GEN.  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


GEN.  GARFIELD'S  FORMER  RESIDENCE  AT  HIRAM,  OHIO. 


MRS.  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


MARY.          JAMES.  HARRY.          IRWIN.  ABRAM 

GENERAL  GARFIELD'S  CHILDREN. 


GEN.  GARFIELD 


FROM  THE 

LOG  CABIN 


TO  THE 


WHITE  HOUSE, 

Including  his  Early  History,    War    Record,  Public: 
Speeches,  Nomination,  Inauguration,  Assassin 
ation,  Death  and  Burial. 

ALSO 

THE  WORLD'S  EULOGIES 

-BY- 
REV.  ISAAC  ERRETT,  EX-GO V.  C.  K.  DAVIS, 
PROF.  SWING,  RABBI  LIL1ENTHAL, 
DR.  TALMAGE,  JOHX  G.  WHITTIER, 
PRESIDENT  HINSDALE,     Lord  Bishop  of  Montreal, 
HON.  J.  H.  RHODES,  REV.  T.  K.  NOBLE, 

HENRY  WATTERSON,       J.  FREEMAN  CLARKE 
HENRY  WARD  BEECHER,    JUDGE  REA, 
ROBERT  COLLYER,  SENATOR  VOORHEESr 

HON.  EMERY  A.  STORRS,         BISHOP  CLARKSON, 
HON.  R.  M.  MATHEWS,  EX-GOV.  OGLESBY, 

CHAS.  T.  BUCK,  HON.  ROGER  A.  PRY  OR 

ANE>  MANY  OTHERS, 


EDITED  BY 


CHICAGO: 
RHODES  &  McCLURE,  PUBLISHERS. 

1881. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1881,  by 
J.  B.  UleCliire  &  R.  S.  Rhode.*, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


t> 


A  new  interest  now  attaches  to  ever y  incident,  and  story, 
and  everything  that  entered  into  and  made  up  the  great  life 
of  the  immortal  Garfield.  This  volume  presents,  in  an 
exceedingly  interesting  manner,  all  the  essential  points  in 
the  life  of  the  martyred  President,  including  that  seem 
ingly  saddest  of  all  events,  his  assassination,  over  which, 
it  is  said,  three  hundred  millions  of  people  mourned.  Near 
the  close  of  the  volume  will  be  found  the  final  funeral  service 
on  the  great  "  Memorial  Day,"  an  event  unparralleled  in 

the  history  of  man. 

J.  B.  McCLURE. 

Chicago,  Oct.  10.  1881. 


Anecdote  of  Gen.  Garfield  at  Murfreesboro,  Illustrating  a 
Noble  Trait  of  His  Character 


Tage. 


130 


Anecdote  of  Garfield's  Early  Life— His  Greatness  Antici 
pated  by  a  Woman  in  Connection  with  a  Laughable  In 
cident  33 

An  Interesting  Reminiscence— Garfield  and  Arthur  both 
School  Teachers  in  the  Same  Room  at  Xorth  Pownal, 
Vermont 33 

An  Interesting  Story  in  Connection  with  the  Sick-room- 
Gen.  Garfield  as  a  Reader 41 

An  Interesting  Reminiscence  of  Garfield's  Youth— A  Letter 
He  'Wrote  Twenty-three  Years  Ago  that  Helped  to  Make 
a  College  President,  and  that  President  Now  Reads  It 
to  His  Students 119 

A  Pen  Picture  of  Garfield 34 

A  Splendid  Record— Summary  of  Garfield's   Labors— The 

Rewards  of  Industry 49 

A  Trying  Ordeal — In  the  Hands  of  the  Doctors — Melting 
Down  an  "Ague  Cake"  with  Calomel!— How  the  Cruci 
ble  (Young  Garfield)  Endured  It — He  is  Saved  by  a  Kind 

Mother 2/ 

A  rthur's  Letter  of  Acceptance 153 

x. 


CONTKVrs. 


Boyhood  of  Gen.  Garfield—  The  Farmer  Boy  on  the  Tow- 
path—  A  Tough  Time—  Good  Health  and  Indomitable 
Energy  Triumphant  .................................... 

C 
Chester  A.  Arthur—  Sketch  of  His  Life  .....................      150 

Col.  Garfield's  First  Great  Battle—  He  Defeats  Humphrey 

Marshall  and  Wins  a  Brigadier-Generalship  .............        58 

Comparative  Statement  of  Ballots  ..........................        93 

Closing  Scenes  in  Garfield's  War  Eecord—  Why  He  Left  the 

Army  ...................................................        66 


Dignity  of  American  Citizenship—  Garfield's  Speech  in  Wash 

ington,  June  16,  1880  .....................................  132 

Dying  Words  of  Gen.  Garfield's  Father—  He  Leaves  His  Four 

Children  in  Care  of  His  Wife  ............................  115 

IE 

Enthusiasm  on  Fire—  Making  the  Nomination  of  Gen.  Gar- 
field  Unanimous  at  the  Chicago  Republican  Conven 
tion—Speeches  of  Messrs.  Conkling,  Logan,  Beaver, 
Hale,  Pleasants,  and  Harrison  ...........................  98 


First  Vote  for  Garfield  in  the  Chicago  Convention— The  Man 
Who  Gave  It  Yoted  for  Zachary  Taylor  and  Abraham 
Lincoln  Under  Like  Circumstances ...  107 

Full  Details  of  Garfield's  Pound  Gap  Expedition— Strategy 

and  Victory— Battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing,  etc 59 


CONTENTS. 

o- 

Garfiekl  at  College — He  Graduates  with  High  Honors — His 
Personal  Appearance  at  This  Period  that  of  a  Newly 
Imported  Dutchman 27 

Garfield  a  Home— His  Eesidence  in  Mentor — His  Family 

and  His  Mother 42 

Garfield  in  War — How  He  Volunteered  to  Put  Down  the 
Rebellion,  and  was  Promoted— Interesting  Incidents  on 
the  Field  of  Battle 53 

Gariield  Nomination  Joke ill 

Garfield  on  the  Democracy — Extract  from  One  of  His  Old 

Speeches— His  Walk  in  the  Democratic  Graveyard 73 

Garfield  "Photographed"  by  "Gath"— A  Remarkably  In 
teresting  Pen  Picture  of  the  Great  Man— His  Physical, 
Social,  Moral,  and  Intellectual  Powers 46 

Garfield's  Celebrated  Speech  at  the  Andersonville  Reunion 
Held  at  Toledo,  Ohio,  Oct.  3,  1879— How  the  General 
Looks  "  Without  Gloves ! " 78 

Garfield's  Extra  Session  Speech— Turning  on  the  Light 128 

Garfield's  First  Ride  on  the  Cars— First  Visit  to  Columbus- 
First  School,  Etc.— Interesting  Reminiscences 126 

Garfield's  Great  Speech  at  Columbus,  Acknowledging  His 

Election  as  United  States  Senator 83 

Garfield's  Life  in  Hiram  Sketched  by  President  Hinsdale,  of 

Hiram  College— An  Interesting  History 116 

Garfield's  School  Days— He  Attends  a  High  School— Takes 
His  Frying-pan  Along— The  Old,  Old  Story  of  What 
Grit  Will  Do 25 

Garfield's  Speech  at  the  Wisconsin  Republican  Reunion- 
Outlining  the  Condition  of  the  Country 76 

Gen.  Gariield  as  a  Wood-Chopper—He  Contracts  to  Put  Up 
Twenty-five  Cords — His  Visit  to  Cleveland  Harbor, 
and  Laughable  Interview  with  "  The  Captain 19 

Gen.  Garfield's  Letter  of  Acceptance 142 


CONTENTS. 

Gen.  Garfield  En  Route  for  Home  After  His  Nomination  toi 
President — From  Illinois  to  Ohio— Incidents  and  Wel 
comes  by  the  Way 102 

Gen.  Garfield  is  Called  to  the  Halls  of  Congress  from  the 
Fields  of  War— How  it  was  Done— Early  Experience  of 
the  Farmer  Boy  on  the  Floor  (59 

Gen.  Garfield  on  the  Floor  of  the  Great  Chicago  Convention 
—Full  Text  of  His  Eloquent  Speech  Nominating  John 
Sherman  for  President — Delivered  June  5,  1880 87 

Gen.  Garfield's  First  Important  Speech  After  His  Nomina 
tion—It  is  Delivered  to  the  Students  of  Hiram  College 
on  "  Commencement  Day  "—An  Interesting  Address. . .  44 

Gen.  Garfield's  Marriage— A  Happy  Home— What  the  Gen 
eral  Says  of  His  Wife 31 

Gen.    Garfield's   Proclamation   to   the   Citizens    of    Sandy 

Valley 62 

Gen.  Garfield's  Speech  Before  the  Hiram  College  Reunion 
Association — The  Commencement  Day  of  1880  Long  to 
be  Remembered 123 


Heroic  Conduct  of  Gen.  Garfield  on  the  Field  of  Chicka- 
mauga— Driving  Back  Longstreet's  Columns  and  Saving 
Gen.  Thomas 03 

How  the  News  of  Garfield's  Nomination  was  Received  at 

Hiram  College— Ringing  the  Old  Bell 107 


^Increasing  Fame  of  the  College  President— His  Election  to 

the  State  Senate,  and  What  He  Did 32 


CONTENTS. 

o 

Off  the  Tow-path— Why  Young  Garfield  Abandoned  the 
Canal— A  Providential  Escape  that  Set  Him  to  Think 
ing  and  Sent  Him  Home 22 


Professor  Garfield  in  the  Hiram  Eclectic  Institute— He 
Becomes  President  of  the  Institution— How  He  Became 
a  Preacher 29 

President  Hinsdale's  Stories  and  Tribute  to  Gen.  Garfield, 
the  Man  who  was  in  Hiram  College  Before  Him— The 
Canal  and  Wood-Chopping  Incidents— How  He  Made 
Success  Possible,  and  Why  He  Succeeded '. . . .  36 


^Seventeen  years  a  Member  of  Congress—  Garfield's  Great 

Work  in  the  Halls  of  Legislation—  A  Triumphant  Leader  71 

\  Summary  of  Ballots  in  the  National  Republican  Conven 

tion—Nominating  Garfield  for  President  ..............  07 

rr 


>T 


The  Break  to  Garfield—  Thirty-fourth  Ballot  ...............        04 

The  Canal  Story,  Told  by  Garfield's  Employer  ............... 

The  Way  Garfield  Got  His  Military  Education  .............. 

The  General  and  Fugitive  Slave  ............................ 

he  Habits  and  Methods  of  Garfield  ....................... 

"  The  Members  from  New  York  "  .  .  ......................... 

The  Turning  Point  in  Garfield's  Life  .......................       135 

The  Thirty-fifth  Ballot  ...................................... 

The  Thirty-sixth  and  Last  Ballot—  Garfield  Nominated.  ... 

The  Eull  Particulars  of  the  Assassination  .................      106 

The  Story  of  Col.  llockwell  .............................. 

The  Suffering  President—  Incidents  on  the  Sick  Bed  ......... 

The  Medical  Record  ....................................... 

The  Run  to  Long  Branch  ................................... 

The  Engineer's  Story  ....................................... 

The  Last  Days'  Bulletin  ..................................... 

The  Death  Bed  Scene  ....................................... 


CONTENTS. 

The  Autopsy  ..............................................  101 

The  Mother  and  Her  Dead  Son  ............................  103 

The  Services  in  the  Francklyn  Cottage  ......................  196 

The  Body  in  State  in  the  Capitol  Rotunda  at  Washington.  ..  198 

Services  at  the  Vault  in  Cleveland  ..........................  200 

«  The  End,"  by  J.  G.  Holland  ................................  209 

The  World  Wide  Sympathy  .................................  210 

Affecting  Incidents  .........................................  211 

The  Birth  Place  of  Gen.  Garfield—  How  it  Looked  on  the 

Great  Memorial  Day  ....................................  213 

The  Assassination  of  President  Lincoln  ....................  219 

The  Maxims  of  Garfield  ....................................  226 


Foreign-Born  Citizens  say  of  the  Convention  ........  108 

Who  is  General  Garfield  ...................................  113 

Who  Have  been  Assassinated  Among  Public  Men  During 

the  Last  30  Years  ...........  ,  ........................   •  •  216 


-5- 


HOME  LIFE  -  -  -  -          -  .17 

WAR  RECORD  -  -    53 

SPEECHES  ...        69 

GARFIELD'S  NOMINATION     -  -  -    91 

MISCELLANEOUS  113 

ASSASSINATION,  DEATH  AND  BURIAL      -       -       -      166 


"  The  man  who  wants  to  serve  his  country  must  pnt 
himself  in  the  line  ot  its  leading  thought,  and  that  is 
the  restoration  of  business,  trade,  commerce,  industry, 
sound  political  economy,  hard  money,  and  the  honest 
payment  of  all  obligations,  and  the  man  who  can  add  any 
thing  in  the  direction  of  accomplishing  any  of  these 
purposes  is  a  public  benefactor." — (Garfield  in  Congress, 
Dec.  10,  1818.) 

xvi. 


STORIES  AND  SKETCHES 

— OF— 

Greneral    GrarfielcL 


HOME  LIFE, 


Boyhood    of  Gen.    Garfield— The  Farmer  Eoy-Cn  the  Tow-path- A  Tcugb 
Time— Good  Health  and  Indomitable  Energy  Triumphant. 

General  James  Abram  Garfield,  the  farmer  boy,  canal 
boatman,  carpenter,  school  teacher,  college  professor, 
preacher,  soldier,  congressman,  the  popular  candidate  of 
the  Republican  party  for  Presidential  honors,  was  born  in 
the  township  of  Orange,  Cuyahoga  County,  Ohio,  fifteen 
miles  from  Cleveland,  on  the  19th  of  November,  1831. 
His  father,  Abraham  Garfield,  was  born  in  Otsego  County, 
2s  ew  York,  and  was  of  a  family  that  had  resided  in 
Massachusetts  for  several  generations.  His  mother,  Eliza 
Ballon,  niece  of  the  Rev.  Hosea  Ballon,  the  noted 
(Tniversalist  clergyman,  was  born  in  Cheshire  County,  '.New 
Hampshire.  The  General  is,  therefore,  of  New  England: 
stock. 

James  Abram  was  the  youngest  of  four  children.  The 
father  died  in  1833,  leaving  the  family  dependent  upwu  a 

IT 


18  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

small  farm  and  the  exertions  of  tlie  mother.  There  was 
nothing  about  the  elder  Garfield  to  distinguish  him  from 
the  other  plodding  farmers  of  the  rather  sterile  township 
of  Orange.  -No  one  could  discern  any  qualities  in  him, 
which,  transmitted  to  the  next  generation,  might  help  to 
make  a  statesman,  unless  it  was  industry;  but  his  wife, who 
is  ^till  living  at  an  advanced  age,  was  always  fond  of  reading 
when  she  could  get  leisure  from  her  hard  household  duties, 
and  was  a  thoroughly  capable  woman,  of  strong  will,  stern 
principles,  and  more  than  average  force  of  character. 

Of  the  children,  no  one  besides  James  has  made  the 
slightest  mark  in  the  world.  The  older  brother  is  a  farmer 
in  Michigan,  and  the  two  sisters  are  farmers'  wives. 

The  General  had  a  tough  time  of  it  when  a  boy.  He 
toiled  hard  on  the  farm  early  and  late  in  summer,  and 
worked  at  the  carpenter's  bench  in  winter.  The  best  of  it 
was  he  liked  work.  There  was  not  a  lazy  hair  on  his  head- 

He  had  an  absorbing  ambition  to  get  an  education,  and 
the  only  road  opened  to  this  end  seemed  that  of  manual 
labor.  Ready  money  was  hard  to  get  in  those  days. 

The  Ohio  Canal  ran  not  far  from  where  he  lived,  and, 
finding  that  the  boatmen  got  their  pay  in  cash,  and  earned 
better  wages  than  lie  could  at  fanning  or  carpentry,  he 
hired  out  as  a  driver  on  the  tow-path,  and  soon  got  up  to 
the  dignity  of  holding  the  helm  of  a  boat.  Then  he 
determined  to  ship  as  a  sailor  on  the  lakes,  but  an  attack 
of  fever  and  ague  interfered  with  his  plans. 

He  was  ill  three  months,  and  when  he  recovered  he 
decided  to  go  to  a  school  called  Geauga  seminary,  in  an 
adjoining  county.  His  mother  had  saved  a  small  sum  of 
money,  which  she  gave  him,  together  with  a  few  cooking 
utensils  and  a  sack  of  provisions.  He  hired  a  small  room 
and  cooked  his  own  food  to  make  his  expenses  as  light  as 


HOME  LIFE.  1!) 

possible.     He  paid  his  own  way  after  that,  never  calling  ou 
his  mother  for  any  more  assistance. 

By  working  at  the  carpenter's  bench  mornings  and 
evenings  and  vacation  times,  and  teaching  country  schools 
during  the  winter  he  managed  to  attend  the  seminar/ 
during  the  spring  and  fall  terms,  and  to  save  a  little  money 
toward  going  to  college.  He  had  excellent  heath,  a  robust 
frame,  and  a  capital  memory,  and  the  attempt  to  combine 
mental  and  physical  work,  which  has  broken  down  many 
farmer  boys  ambitions  to  get  an  education,  did  not  hurt. 
him. 


•Gen.  Garfield  as  a  Wood-Chopper -He  Contracts  to  Pat  Up  Twenty-five  Cords 
-His  Visit  to  Clevelani  Harbor,  and  Laughable 
Interview  with  the  "  The  Captain." 

The  friends  and  early  companions  of  the  General  relate 
wonderful  stories  of  his  precocity,  telling  how  he  could 
read  at  3  years,  and  possessed  remarkable  capacity  for  com 
mitting  to  memory  what  he  had  read,  so  that  at  the  ago 
when  boys  usually  learn  their  letters  he  was  somewhat  ad 
vanced  in  literature.  During  all  the  years  of  boyhood  lie 
simply  worked  and  attended  school,  and  grew  strong  arid 
hearty,  until,  at  the  age  ot  sixteen,  he  was  fully  capable  of 
doing  a  strong  man's  work  on  the  farm.  In  the  spring  of 
this  year  he  went  to  the  Township  of  Newburg,  now  in  the 
limits  of  Cleveland,  to  chop  cordwood. 

He  took  a  job  of  putting  up  twenty-five  cords,  and  man 
fully  did  he  set  himself  in  his  solitude  to  his  task!  To  the 
north  of  him,  as  he  worked,  was  the  tlake  in  slaty  blue. 
There,  in  miniature,  was  the  ocean  of  which  he  had  so  long 
dreamed.  Everything  had  to  be  won  by  little.  The  ocean 
was  a  great  way  off.  He  could  not  early  reach  it.  He 
would  begin  his  life  of  a  sailor  on  the  lake,  and  then  seek  a 


H  STUJKI£S  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIEL1). 

wider  range  upon  the  "  ocean  blue."  The  work  of  wood- 
chopping  was  vigorously  prosecuted,  and  time  tlew  with 
great  rapidity. 

He  felt  that  the  pay  for  wood-chopping  was  hardly  suffi 
cient  for  a  start,  and  so  he  hired  out  to  a  Mr.  Treat,  during 
tin-  1  my  ing  and  harvesting  season,  but  he  still  dreamed  on. 
When  this  job  was  finished  he  went  home  to  his  mother 
and  announced  his  intentions.  She  knew  well  that  it  was, 
useless  to  oppose  him,  now  that  he  had  really  set  his  heart 
upon  it,  and  so,  in  the  midst  of  prayer  and  God-blessings, 
he  departed. 

He  visited  the  harbor  in  Cleveland.  Here  he  found  a 
single  vessel  about  to  depart  for  a  trip  up  the  lakes.  In  all 
his  dreams  he  had  never  seen  a  Captain  except  as  a  sort  of 
mixture  of  angel  and  dashing  military  officer  in  blue  coat 
and  brass  buttons.  He  went  on  board  this  vessel  and  in 
quired  for  the  Captain.  He  was  told,  with  a  smile,  by  one 
of  the  men,  that  the  Captain  would  come  up  from  the  hold 
in  a  few  minutes.  He  had  not  long  to  wait.  Presently  a 
drunken  wretch,  brutal  in  every  feature,  came  up,  swearing 
at  every  step. 

"Tlu-iv  i.-  the  Captain,"  said  one  of  the  men. 
The  country  lad  stepped  forward  and  modestly  asked  if  a 
hand  was  wanted. 

Turning  upon  the  youth,  the  brute  poured  a  volley  of 
pent-up  cur.-Ls  and  oaths,  and  made  no  other  answer. 

The  poor  awkward  boy  was  for  a  moment  amazed,  and 
then,  turning  away,  walked  about  to  recover  himself.  He 
was  by  no  means  cured  of  his  longing  for  the  sea;  he  had 
too  strong  a  will  for  that,  and  this  had  taken  too  strong  a 
hold  upon  him.  Devolving  the  matter  in  his  mind,  he 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  had  failed  because  he  lacked 
some  initiatory  process.  As  the  lake  was  to  the  ocean,  so 
should  the  canal  be  to  the  lake;  he  would  apply  at  the  canal 
and  gain  some  training  there. 


UOMti  LIFE.  21 

Young  Garfield  Tries  the  Canal-Thirteen  Duckings  on  the  First  Trip,  and  one 
Fight-The  First  Victory. 

Notwithstanding  his  poor  success  with  "the  Captain," 
young  Garfield  determined  to  persevere,  and  the  very  first 
canal-boat  he  visited  wanted  a  driver,  and  he  got  the  place. 
The  General  avers  that,  by  actual  count,  he  fell  into  the 
canal  thirteen  times  on  the  first  trip.  Knowing  nothing 
of  the  art  of  swimming,  he  came  very  near  drowning.  He 
worked  faithfully  and  well,  however,  and  at  the  end  of  his 
first  round  trip  he  was  promoted  from  driver  to  bowsman. 

On  his  first  trip  to  Beaver,  in  this  new  capacity,  he  had 
his  first  fight.  He  was  standing  on  the  deck,  with  the 
setting  pole  against  his  shoulder.  Some  feet  away  stood 
Dave,  a  great,  good-natured  boatman,  and  a  firm  friend 
of  the  young  General.  The  boat  gave  a  lurch,  the  pole 
slipped  from  the  youth's  shoulder,  and  flew  in  the  direction 
of  Dave. 

"Look  out,  Dave!"  called  Garfield;  but  the  pole  was 
there  first,  and  struck  Dave  a  severe  blow  in  the  ribs. 

Garfield  expressed  his  sorrow,  but  it  was  of  no  use. 
Dave  turned  upon  the  luckless  boy  with  curses,  and 
threatened  to  thrash  him.  Garfield  knew  he  was  innocent 
even  of  carelessness. 

The  threat  of  a  flogging  from  a  heavy  man  of  35  roused 
the  hot  Garfield  blood.  Dave  rushed  upon  him  with  his 
head  down,  like  an  enraged  bull.  -As  he  came  on,  Garfield 
sprang  one  side  and  dealt  him  a  powerful  blow  just  back 
•of  and  under  the  left  ear.  Dave  went  to  the  bottom  of  the 
boat  with  his  head  between  two  beams,  and  his  now  heated 
foe  went  after  him,  seized  him  by  the  throat,  and  lifted  the 
same  clenched  hand  for  another  blow. 

"Found  the  blamed  fool  to  death,  Jim,"  called  the 
appreciative  Captain.  "  If  he  haint  no  more  sense  to  get 
mad  ;it  accidents  he  orto  die; "  and,  as  the  youth  hesitated, 
4<<Whv  don't  vou  strike?  Blame  me.  if  I'll  interfere." 


STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

He  could  not;  the  man  was  down,  helpless  in  his  power. 
Dave  expressed  iv-n -t  at  his  n^v.      Garfield  gave  him  his 

han.l,  and  they  were  better  friends  than  ever. 

The  victory  gave  the  young  man  much  prestige  among 
tlu  canal  men.     The   idea  that  a  boy  could  thrash   Dave 
.-omething  that  the  roughs  could  not  understand. 


Off  the  Tow-Path.- Why  Young  Garfield  Abandoned  the  Canal. -A  Provi 
dential  Escape  that  Set  Him  to  Thinking  and 
Sent  Him  Home. 

The  General  says  that  two  causes  were  instrumental  in 
f'ii>iiiir  him  finally  to  abandon  the  canal.  One  was  his 
mother,  and  the  other  was  the  ague  cake  in  his  side. 

He  had  worked  but  a  short  time  when  he  began  to  feel 
the  ague  in  his  system,  and  finally  it  assumed  a  very  seri 
ous  form. 

His  many  falls  into  the  water,  and  the  thorough  wetting- 
which  followed  increased  his  disease,  and  finally  one  especi 
ally  heavy  fall  led  him  to  reason  quite  fully  over  the  mat 
ter.  It  was  night,  and  in  the  darkness  he  grasped  for 
something  to  draw  himself  out  of  the  water.  As  luck 
would  have  it  he  chanced  to  reach  thedragrope  of  the  boat. 
1  land  over  hand  he  grasped  the  rope,  and  finally  he  drew 
himM'lf  up. 

He  thought  of  his  mother,  and  how  he  had  left  her  with 
the  intention  of  going  upon  the  lake,  and  how  she  still 
believed  lit-  wa.-  there. 

The  next  day's  warm  sun  dried  his  clothes,  but  he 
WM  >ickcr  than  ever  with  the  chills,  and  he  determined 
upon  reaching  Cleveland  to  go  and  visit  his  mother  and  lay 
otf  ion;r  enough  to  get  well. 

It  wa>  alter  dark  when  he  approached  the  home  of  the 
widow  and  orphans.  Coming  quietly  near  he  heard  her 


HOME  LIFE. 


voice  in  prayer  within.     He  bowed  and  listened  as  the  fer 
vent  prayer  went  on.     He  heard  her  pray  for  him. 

When  the  voice  ceased  he  softly  raised  the  latch  and 
entered.  Her  prayer  was  answered.  Not  till  that  solemn 
time  did  he  know  that  his  going  away  had  crushed  L 


her. 


A  Trying  Ordeal— In  the  Hands  of  the   Doctors -Melting  Down  an  "  Agae 

Cake*'  with  Calomel!— How  the  Crucible  (Young  Garfield)  Endured 

It -He  is  Saved  by  a  Kind  Mother. 

After  the  terrible  ducking  and  narrow  escape  that  closed 
the  labors  of  young  Garfield  on  the  canal,  he  was  at  once 
prostrated  with  the  "  ague  cake,"  as  the  hardness  of  the  left 
side  is  popularly  called.  One  of  the  old  school  M.D.'s 
salivated  him,  and  for  several  awful  months  he  lay  on  the 
bed  with  a  board  so  adjusted  as  to  conduct  the  now 
of  saliva  from  his  mouth  while  the  cake  was  dissolving 
under  the  influence  of  calomel,  as  the  doctor  said! 

Nothing  but  the  indissoluble  constitution  given  him  by 
his  father  carried  him  through.  However  it  fared  with 
that  obdurate  cake,  his  passion  for  the  sea  survived,  and  he 
intended  to  return  to  the  canal.  The  wise,  sagacious  love 
of  the  mother  won.  She  took  counsel  of  other  helps. 
During  the  dreary  months  with  tender  watchfulness  she 
cared  for  him.  She  trusted  in  his  noble  nature;  she 
trusted  in  good  faith  that,  although  he  constantly  talked 
of  carrying  out  his  old  plans,  he  would  abandon  them. 

Not  lor  years  did  he  know  the  agony  these  words  cost 
her.  She  merely  said,  in  her  sweet,  quiet  way: 

k  James,  you're  sick.  If  you  return  to  the  canal,  I  fear 
you  will  be  taken  down  again.  I  have  been  thinking  it 
over.  It  seems  to  me  you  had  better  go  to  school  this 
spring,  and  then,  with  a  term  in  the  fall,  you  may  be  able 
to  teach  in  the  winter.  It  you  can  teach  winters  and  want 


24  JSTO2U£JS  AA'D  SKETCHES  OF  .iARFIELD 

to  go   on   the    canal    or    lake    summers,   you   will    have 
employment  the  year  round." 

Wise  woman  that  she  was,  in  his  broken  condition  it  did 
not  seem  a  bad  plan.  While  he  revolved  it,  she  went  on: 

"  Your  money  is  now  all  gone,  but  your  brother  Thomas 
'Mid  I  will  be  able  to  raise  $17  for  you  to  start  to  school  on, 
an  !  you  can  perhaps  get  along,  after  that  is  gone,  upon 
your  own  resources." 

HI  took  the  advice  and  the  money, — the  only  fund  ever 
contributed  by  others  to  him  either  in  fitting  or  passing 
through  college, — and  went  to  The  Geauga,  a  seminary  at 
Chester. 

In  speaking  of  this  longing  for  the  sea,  the  General  said, 
half  regretfully: 

"But  even  now,  at  times,  the  old  feeling,  (the  longing 
for  the  sea)  comes  back,"  and,  walking  across  the  room,  he 
turned,  with  a  flashing  eye:  "I  tell  you  I  would  rather 
now  command  a  fleet  in  a  great  naval  battle  than  to  do 
anything  else  on  this  earth.  The  sight  of  a  ship  often  fills 
me  with  a  strong  fascination,  and  when  upon  the  water, 
and  my  fellow-landsmen  are  in  the  agonies  of  sea-sickness, 
I  am  as  tranquil  as  when  walking  the  land  in  the  serenest 
weather." 

And  so  the  mother  conquered.  When  a  thirst  for 
knowledge  was  once  engendered  in  the  youth,  the  mother 
stood  in  no  danger  of  losing  him.  But  during  all  those 
years  of  education,  there  were  obstacles  of  great  magnitude 
to  be  overcome,  poverty  to  be  struggled  against,  and 
victories  to  be  won. 


HOME  LIFE.  & 

Garfield 's  School  Days-He  Attends  a  High  School-Takes  His  Frying-pan 
Along-The  Old  Old  Story  of  What  Grit  Will  Do. 

Up  to  the  time  of  young  Garfield's  canal  experience  he 
seemed  to  hav^  cherished  little  ambition  for  anything 
beyond  the  prospects  offered  by  the  laborious  life  he  had 
entered.  But  it  happened  that  one  of  the  winter  schools 
was  taught  by  a  promising  young  man  named  Samuel 
Bates.  He  had  attended  a  high  school  in  an  adjacent 
township,  known  as  the  "  Geauga  Seminary,"  and  with  the 
proselyting  spirit  common  to  young  men  in  the  back 
woods,  who  were  beginning  to  taste  the  pleasures  of  edu 
cation,  he  was  very  anxious  to  take  back  several  new 
students  with  him. 

Garfield  listened  to  Mr.  Bates,  and  was  tempted.  He 
had  intended  to  become  a  sailor  on  the  lakes,  but  he  was 
yet  too  ill  to  carry  out  this  plan,  and  so  he  finally  resolved 
to  attend  the  high  school  one  term,  and  postpone  sailing 
till  the  next  fall. 

That  resolution  made  a  scholar,  a  Major  General,  a 
Senator-elect,  and  a  Presidential  candidate  out  of  him, 
instead  of  a  sailor  before  the  mast  on  a  Lake  Erie  schooner. 
The  boy  never  dreamed  of  what  the  man  would  be. 

Early  in  March,  1849,  young  Garfield  reached  Chester 
(the  site  of  the  Geauga  Seminary)  in  company  with  his 
cousin  and  another  young  man  from  his  v  illagei  They  car 
ried  with  them  frying-pans  and  dishes  as  well  as  their  few 
school  books.  They  rented  a  room  in  an  old,  un painted 
frame  house  near  the  academy,  and  went  to  work.  Garfield 
bought  the  second  Algebra  he  had  ever  seen,  and  began  to 
study  it.  English  Grammar,  Natural  Philosophy,  and 
Arithmetic  were  the  list  of  his  studies. 

His  mother  had  scraped  together  a  little  'sum  of  money 
to  aid  him  at  the  start,  which  she  gave  him  with 
her  blessing  when  he  left  his  humble  home.  After  that  he 


26  STOJllES  AND     A  /  /'  II ES  OF  UARF1ELH. 

nev^r  had  a  dollar  in  his  lite  that  he  did  not  earn.  As  soon 
:is  lie  began  to  tee!  .-it  home  in  his  classes  lie  sought  among 
the  carpenters  of  the  village  tor  employment  at  his  trade. 

He  worked  mornings,  evenings,  and  Saturdays,  and  thus 
earned  enough  to  pay  his  way.  When  the  summer  vaca 
tion  came  lit-  had  a  longer  interval  for  work;  and  BO  when 
th«-  tall  term  opened  he  had  enough  money  laid  up  to  pay 
his  tuition  and  give  him  a  start  again. 

By  the  end  of  the  fall  term  Garlield  had  made  such 
progress  that  a  lad  of  18  thought  he  was  able  to  teach  a 
di>trict  school.  Then  the  future  seemed  easy  to  him.  The 
fruits  of  the  winter's  teaching  were  enough,  with  his 
economical  management  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  spring 
and  fall  terms  at  the  academy.  Whatever  he  could  make 
at  his  morning  and  evening  work  at  his  carpenter's  trade 
would  go  to  swell  another  fund,  the  need  of  which  he  had 
In -gun  to  feel 

For  the  backwoods  lad,  village  carpenter,  tow-path  canal 
hand,  would-be  sailor,  had  now  resolved  to  enter  college. 
"It  is  a  great  point  gained,"  he  said  years  afterwards, 
"when,  in  our  hurrying  times,  a  young  man  makes  up  his 
mind  to  devote  several  years  to  the  accomplishment  of 
definite  work."  It  was  so  now  in  his  own  case.  With  a 
definite*  purpose  before  him  he  began  to  save  all  his- 
earnings,  and  to  shape  all  his  exertions  to  the  one  end. 

Through  the  summer  vacation  of  1850  lie  worked  at  his 
trad i1,  helping  to  build  houses  within  a  stone's  throw  of 
the  academy.  During  the  next  session  of  the  academy 
he  was  able  to  abandon  boarding  himself,  having  found  a 
boarding  house  where  he  found  the  necessaries  of  life  for 
$1  per  week. 

The  next  winter  he  taught  again,  and  m  the  spring 
removed  to  I li ram  to  attend  the  "Institute"  over  which 
he  was  afterward  to  preside.  So  he  continued  teaching  a 


1  <  JL  £  LIFE.  27 

term  each  winter,  attending  school  through  spring  and  fall, 
and  keeping  up  with  his  classes  l.y  ^r.vute  study  during 
the  time  he  was  absent.  l>efore  he  had  left  Hiram 
Institute  he  was  the  finest  Latin  and  Greek  scholar  that  the 
school  had  ever  seen- — and  at  this  day  he  reads  and  writes 
the  language  fluently. 

At  last,  by  the  summer  of  1854:,  the  carpenter  and  tow- 
path  boy  had  gone  as  far  as  the  high  school  and  academies 
of  his  native  region  could  carry  him.  He  was  now  nearly 
23  years  old.  The  struggling,  hard-working  boy  had  de 
veloped  into  a  self-reliant  man. 

lie  was  the  neighborhood  wonder  for  scholarship,  and  a 
general  favorite  for  the  hearty,  genial  ways  that  had  never 
deserted  him.  He  had  been  brought  up  in  "  the  Church 
of  the  Disciples,7'  as  it  loved  to  call  itself,  of  which 
Alexander  Campbell  was  the  great  light.  At  an  early  age 
he  had  followed  the  example  of  his  parents  in  connecting 
himself  with  this  church.  His  life  corresponded  with  his 
^profession.  Everybody  believed  in  and  trusted  him. 

He  had  saved  from  his  school-teaching  and  carpenter 
work  about  half  enough  money  to  carry  him  through  the 
two  years  in  which  he  thought  he  could  finish  the  ordinary 
college  course. 


Garfield  at  College— He  Graduates  with  Hign  Honors— His  Personal  Appear 
ance  at  this  Period  that  of  a  "  Newly-Imported  Dutchman.  " 

When  he  was  23  years  of  age  young  Garfield  concluded 
he  had  got  about  all  there  was  to  be  had  in  the  obscure 
cross-roads  academy.  He  calculated  that  he  had  saved 
about  half  enough  money  to  get  through  college,  provided 
he  could  begin,  as  he  hoped,  with  the  Junior  year.  He 
was  growing  old,  and  he  determined  that  he  must  go  to 
college  that  fall. 


28  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

How  to  procure  the  rest  of  the  needed  money  was  a 
mystery;  luit  at  last  his  good  character,  and  the  good  will 
this  brought  him,  solved  the  question. 

lie  was  in  vigorous  lusty  health,  and  a  life  insurance 
policy  was  easily  obtained.  This  he  assigned  to  a  gentle 
man  who  thereupon  loaned  him  what  money  was  needed, 
knowing  that  if  he  lived  he  would  pay  it,  and  if  he  died 
the  policy  would  secure  it. 

Pecuniary  difficulties  thus  disposed  of,  he  was  ready  to 
start.  But  where?  He  had  originally  intended  to  attend 
Bethany  College,  the  institution  sustained  by  the  church  of 
which  he  was  a  member,  and  presided  over  by  Alexander 
Campbell,  the  man  above  all  others  whom  he  had  been 
taught  to  admire  and  revere.  But  as  study  aritl  experience 
had  enlarged  his  vision,  he  had  come  to  see  that  there  were 
better  institutions  outside  the  limits  of  his  peculiar  sect. 

So  in  the  fall  of  1854  the  pupil  of  Geauga  Seminary  and 
the  Hiram  Institute  applied  for  admission  at  the  vener^le 
doors  of  Williams  College.  He  knew  no  graduate  of  the 
college  and  no  student  attending  it;  and  of  the  President 
he  only  knew  that  he  had  published  a  volume  of  lectures 
which  he  liked,  and  that  he  had  written  a  kindly  word  to 
him  when  he  spoke  of  coming. 

The  Western  carpenter  and  village  school-teacher  re 
ceived  many  a  shock  in  the  new  sphere  he  had  now  entered. 
On  every  hand  he  was  made  to  feel  the  social  superiori  ty  of 
his  fellow-students.  Their  ways  were  free  from  the  awk 
ward  habits  of  the  untrained  laboring  youth.  Their  speech 
was  five  from  the  uncouth  phrases  of  the  provincial  circles 
in  which  he  moved.  Their  toilets  made  the  handiwork  of 
his  village  tailor  sadly  shabby.  Their  free-handed  -expen 
ditures  contrasted  strikingly  with  his  enforced  parsimony. 
To  some  tough- fibred  hearts  these  would  have  been  only 
petty  annoyances.  To  the  warm,  social,  generous  mind  of 


HOME  LIFE.  29 

young  Garfield  they  seem,  from  more  than  one  indication  of 
his  college  life  that  we  can  gather,  to  have  been  a  source  of 
positive  anguish. 

But  he  bore  bravely  up,  maintained  the  advance  stand!  ng 
in  the  junior  class  to  which  he  had  been  admitted  on  his 
arrival,  and  at  the  end  of  his  two  years'  course  (in  1856) 
bore  off  the  metaphysical  honor  of  his  class — reckoned  at 
Williams  among  the  highest  within  the  gift  of  the  institu 
tion  to  her  graduating  members. 

But  now,  on  his  return  to  his  home,  the  young  man  who 
had  gone  so  far  East  as  to  old  Williams,  and  had  come  back 
decorated  with  her  honors,  was  thought  good  for  anything. 

A  daguerreotype  of  him  taken  about  this  time  represents 
a  rather  awkward  youth,  with  a  shock  of  light  hair  stand 
ing  straight  up  from  a  big  forehead,  and  a  frank,  thought 
ful  face,  of  a  very  marked  German  type.     There  is  not, 
however,  a  drop  of  German  blood  in  the  Garfield  family, 
but  this  picture  would  be  taken  for  some  Fritz  or  Carl  just 
over  from  the  Fatherland. 


Proffessor  Garfield  in  the  Hiram  Eclectic  Institute.— He  Becomes  President 
of  the  Institution.— How  He  Became  a  Preacher. 

Before  he  went  to  college  Garfield  had  connected  him 
self  with  the  Disciples,  a  sect  having  a  numerous  member 
ship  in  Eastern  and  Southern  Ohio,  West  Virginia,  and 
Kentucky,  where   its   founder,  Alexander   Campbell,  had 
traveled  and  preached. 

The  principal  peculiarities  of  the  denomination  are  their 
refusal  to  formulate  their  beliefs  into  a  creed,  the  indepen 
dence  of  each  congregation,  tho  hospitality  and  fraternal 
feeling  of  the  members,  and  the  lack  of  a  regular  ministry. 

When  Garfield  returned  to  Ohio  it  was  natural  that  he 
should  soon  gravitate  to  the  struggling  little  school  of  the 


STORISS  AM)  SKETCHES  Of  QARFIKLD. 

young  sort  at  Hiram,  Portage  county,  near  his  boyhood's 
home. 

Here  he  was  straightway  made  tutor  of  Latin  and  Greek 
in  tlu>  Hiram  Kdrctic  Institute,  in  which  only  two  years 
before  he  had  been  a  pupil,  and  so  lie  began  to  work  for 
money  to  pay  his  debts.  So  high  a  position  did  he  take, 
amVso  popular  did  he  become,  that  the  next  year  he  was 
made  President  of  the  institute,  a  position  which  he  con 
tinued  to  hold  until  his  entrance  into  political  life,  but  a 
little  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war. 

Two  years  of  teaching  (during  which  time  he  married) 
left  him  even  with  the  world.  Through  the  school  year  of 
1858  '•>  he  even  began  to  save  a  little  money.  At  the  same 
time  he  commenced  the  study  of  Jaw. 

Hiram  is  a  lonesome  country  village,  three  miles  from  a 
railroad,  built  upon  a  high  hill,  overlooking  twenty  miles 
of  cheese-making  country  to  the  southward.  It  contains 
fifty  or  sixty  houses  clustered  around  the  green,  in  the  cen 
ter  of  which  stands  the  homely  red-brick  college  structure. 
Plain  living  and  high  thinking  was  the  order  of  things  at 
Hi  ram  College  in  those  days.  The  teachers  were  poor,  the 
pupils  were  poor,  ar.d  the  institution  was  poor,  but  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  hard,  faithful  study  done,  and  many 
ambitions  plans  formed. 

The  young  President  taught,  lectured,  and  preached,  and 
all  the  time  studied  as  diligently  as  any  acolyte  in  the  tern- 
pile  of  knowledge.  He  frequently  spoke  on  Sundays  in  the 
churches  of  the  towns  in  the  vicinity  to  create  an  interest 
in»the  college. 

Among  the  Disciples  any  one  can  preach  who  has  a  mind 
to,  no  ordination  being  required.  From  these  Sunday  dis- 
cou-rses  came  tlie  story  that  Garh'eld  at  one  time  was  a 
minister.  He  never  considered  himself  as  such,  and  never 
had  any  intention  of  finding  a  career  in  the  pulpit.  His 


HOME  LIFE.  ol 

ambition,  if  he  had  any  outside  of  the  school,  lay  in  the 
direction  of  law  and  politics. 


<jen.  Garfield's  Marriage— A  Happy  Home— What  the  General  says  of  his  Wife. 

During  his  professorship  at  Hiram,  Garfield  married 
Miss  Lucretia  Rudolph,  daughter  of  a  farmer  in  the 
neighborhood,  whose  acquaintance  he  had  made  while  at 
the  academy,  where  she  was  also  a  pupil. 

She  was  a  quiet,  thoughtful  girl,  of  singularly  sweet  and 
refined  disposition,  fond 'of  study  and  reading,  possessing  a 
warm  heart  and  a  mind  with  the  capacity  of  steady  growth. 

The  marriage  was  a  love  affair  on  both  sides,  and  has 
been  a  thoroughly  happy  one.  Much  ot  Gen.  Garfield's 
subsequent  success  in  life  may  be  attributed  to  the  never- 
failing  sympathy  and  intellectual  companionship  of  his 
wife  and  the  stimulus  of  a  loving  home  circle.  The  young 
couple  bought  a  neat  little  cottage  fronting  on  the  college 
campus,  and  began  their  wedded  life  poor  and  in  debt,  but 
with  brave  hearts. 

Speaking  ot  his  wife  recently,  Mr.  Garfield  said: 

I  have  been  wonderfully  blessed  in  the  discretion  of  my  wife. 
She  is  one  of  the  coolest  and  best-balanced  women  I  ever  saw. 
She  is  unstampedable.  There  has  not  been  one  solitary  instance 
of  my  public  career  where  I  suffered  in  the  smallest  degree  .or 
any  remark  she  ever  made.  It  would  have  been  perfectly  natural 
for  a  woman  often  to  say  something  that  could  be  misinterpreted ; 
"but  without  any  design,  and  with  the  intelligence  and  coolness 
of  her  character,  she  has  never  made  the  slightest  mistake  that  I 
ever  heard  of.  With  the  competition  that  has  been  against  me, 
many  times  such  discretion  has  be^n  a  real  blessing. 

She  has  borne  him  a  large  family  of  children,  two 
of  whom — the  eldest  boys — are  now  preparing  for  college. 
Their  home  since  their  marriage  has  been  in  Hiram  until 
three  or  four  years  ago,  when  they  removed  to  Mentor, 
Lake  County,  where  their  residence  now  is. 


OF  GARF1BLD. 

Increasing  Fame  of  the  College  President  -His  Election  to  the  State  Senate 
and  What  He  Did. 

The  College  President  began  to  draw  attention  tnrough 
wider  circles  than  those  which  he  had  been  a  center  as  a 
u-arhrr,  siiid  hN  oratorical  powers  had  brought  him  promi 
nently  before  the  public.  As  President  of  the  institute,  it 
was  natural  that  he  should  secure  a  prominent  position 
among  educated  men,  and  his  reputation  grew  very  rapidly 
until,  in  1859,  the  people  of  his  county  thought  him  a 
proper  man  to  represent  them  in  the  State  Senate.  Tie  was 
elected  by  a  large  majority,  and  took  an  influential  part  in 
legislation  and  debate. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  General  Garfield  was  once 
a  clergyman.  This  is  not  strictly  true;  he  frequently 
appeared  in  the  pulpit  of  the  Disciples  Church,  in  accord 
ance  with  the  liberal  usages  of  that  denomination,  but 
never  entertained  any  idea  of  becoming  a  minister,  nor  did 
he  ever  take  holy  orders.  Since  his  entrance  into  politics 
as  a  member  of  the  Legislature  he  has  not  performed  any 
ministerial  duties,  but  has  turned  his  attention  more  to  the 
practice  of  law. 

When  the  war  broke  out  General  Gartield  was  a  leading 
member  of  the  Ohio  State  Senate,  and  was  the  foremost  of 
a  small  band  of  Republicans  who  thought  it  impolitic  to 
adopt  the  constitutional  amendments  which  had  befln  sent 
by  Congress  to  the  States  forbidding  forever  legislation  on 
the  subject  of  slavery.  He  took  the  lead  in  revising  an 
old  statute  about  treason,  and  when  what  was  known  as  the 
"  million  war  bill "  came  up,  he  was  the  most  conspicuous 
of  its  advocates. 


HOME  LIFE.  38 

Anecdote  of  Garfield's  Early  Life-Hia  Greatness  Anticipated  by  ft  Woman  in 
Connection  with  a  Laughable  Incident. 

A  reminiscence  of  Gen.  Gai-field's  earlier  manhood  ifc 
found  in  the  recital  given  by  one  Capt.  Stiles,  the  pres 
ent  Sheriff  of  Ashtabnla  county,  Ohio.  In  1850,  GapL 
Stiles  relates  that  Garfiekl  taught  the  district  school  of 
Stiles' district,  and  "boarded  around."  Like  many  other 
school-masters  of  the  pioneer  days,  Garfield's  wardrobe  was 
scanty,  consisting  of  but  one  suit  of  jean. 

One  day  the  school- master  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  rend 
his  pantaloons  across  the  knee  in  an  unseemly  degree.  He 
pinned  up  the  rend  as  best  he  could,  and  went  to  the  home 
stead  of  the  Stiles'  where  he  was  then  boarding.  Good 
Mrs.  Stiles  cheerfully  said  to  the  unfortunate  pedagogue: 

"Oh,  well,  James,  never  mind;  you  go  to  .bed  early  and 
I  will  put  a  nice  patch  under  that  tear,  and  darn  it  all  up 
so  nice  that  it  will  last  all  winter,  and  when  you  get  to  be 
United  States  Senator  nobody  will  ask  you  what  kind  of 
clothes  you  wore  when  you  were  keeping  school." 

Last  winter  when  Gen.  Garfield  was  elected  Senator  from 
the  State  of  Ohio  Mrs.  Stiles,  who  is  still  a  hale  old  lady, 
sent  her  congratulations  to  him  and  reminded  him  of  the 
torn  pantaloons ;  and  for  her  kindly  congratulations  she  re 
ceived  a  most  touching  reply  from  ':.ie  newly-elected 
Senator,  assuring  her  that  the  incident  was  fresh  in  his 
memory. 

AJI  Interesting  Reminiscence— Garfield  and  Arthur  Both  School  Teachers  ifc 
the  Same  Room  at  North  Pownal,  Vt. 

North  Pownal,  Bennington,  Co.,  Vt.,  formerly  known 
as  Whipple's  Corners,  is  situated  in  the  southwestern 
corner  of  the  State,  and  by  the  usually  travelled  road 
one  passes  in  an  hour's  ride  from  New. York  through  the 

3 


34  STOIUK*   AND  SKETCHED  OF  GARFIELD. 

corner  of  Vermont  by  way  of  North  Powrial  into  the  State 
of  Massachusetts. 

In   1851  Chester  A.  Arthur,  fresh  from  Union  College, 
came  to  North  Pownal,  and  for  one  suinmer  taught  the 
.ge  school.     About  two  years  later  James  A.  Garfield. 
I  a  young  student  at  Williams  College,  several  miles 
d    r.int,  \\\  order  to  obtain  the  necessary  means  to  defray 
-xpenses  while  pursuing  his  studies,  came  also  to  North 
Pownal   and  established  a  writing-school  in  the  room  for 
merly  occupied  by  Mr.  Arthur,  and  taught  classes  in  pen 
manship  during  the  long  winter  evenings. 

Thus,  from  a  common  starting-point  in  early  life,  after 
the  lapse  of  more  than  a  quarter  ot  a  century,  after  years 
Of  manly  toil,  these  distinguished  m:»>  are  brought  into  a 
close  relationship  before  the  nation  and  before  the  civilized 
world. 


A  Pen  Picture  of  Garfield. 

In  person  Gen.  Garfield  is  six  feet  high,  broad-shouldered 
and  strongly  built.  He  has  an  unusually  large  head,  that 
seems  to  be  three-fourths  forehead,  light-brown  hair  and 
beard,  large,  light-blue  eyes,  a  prominent  nose,  and  full 
Cheeks.  He  dresses  plainly,  is  fond  of  broad-brimmed 
slouch  hats  and  stout  boots,  eats  heartily,  cares  nothing  for 
luxurious  living,  is  thoroughly  temperate  in  all  respects 
gave  in  that  of  brain-work,  and  devoted  to  his  wife  and 
children  and  very  fond  of  his  country  home.  Among  men 
he  is  genial,  approachable,  companionable,  and  a  remarkably 
entertaining  talker. 


HOME  LIFE.  :::, 

A  Pen  Picture  of  Gea.  Garfield's  Wife-  A  Model  Woman. 

Mrs.  Gariield  is  a  lady  of  medium  height,  and  of  slight 
but  well-knit  form.  She  has  small  features,  with  a  some 
what  prominent  forehead,  and  her  black  hair,  crimped  in 
front  and  done  up  in  a  modest  coil,  is  slightly  tinged  with 
gray.  A  pair  of  black  eyes,  and  a  mouth  about  which 
there  plays  a  sweetly  bewitching  smile,  are  the  most  attrac 
tive  features  of  a  thoroughly  expressive  face.  In  dress  she 
Is  quite  as  plain  as  the  present  mistress  of  the  "Whito 
House,  whom  she  resembles  in  several  respects.  Her  man 
ners  are  graceful  and  winning  in  the  extreme.  Though  shn 
is  noted  for  her  modest,  retiring  ways  and  her  thorough 
domesticity  more  than  for  any  other  distinguishing  char 
acteristic,  her  educational  accomplishments  are  many  and 
varied.  In  all  the  public  life  of  her  distinguished  compan 
ion  she  has  been  his  constant  helpmeet  and  adviser.  She; 
is  a  quick  observer,  an  intelligent  listener,  but  undemon 
strative  in  the  extreme.  When  the  General  was  at  Ohick- 
amagua,  and  everybody  at  Hiram  was  painfully  anxious  to 
get  the  latest  newrs  from  the  field  of  battle,  she  sat  quiet  and 
patient  in  what  is  now  Professor  Hinsdale's  cosy  library, 
and  was  able  to  control  the  inmost  emotions  that  swayed 
her  breast.  How  she  received  the  news  of  the  General's 
nomination  at  Chicago  will  probably  never  be  fully  known, 
but  everybody  here  is  sure  that  she  was  as  undemonstrative 
as  when  waiting  lor  news  from  Chickamaugua. 


36  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  QARFIELD. 

President  Hinsdale's  Stories  and  Tribute  to  Gen.  Garfield,  the  Man  Who  was 

In  Hiram  College  Before  Him-The  Canal  and  Wood-Chopping 

Incidents— How  He  I£ade  Success  Possible,  and 

Why  He  Succeeded. 

President  B.  A.  Ilinsdale,  of  Hiram  College,  on  the  day 
of  Gartield's  election  to  the  United  States  Senate,  made  the 

0 

following  announcement  to  the  students  in  the  chapel: 

"  To-day  a  man  will  be  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate  in  Columbus  who,  when  a  boy,  was  once  the  bell- 
ringer  in  this  school  and  afterward  its  President.  Feeling 
this,  we  ought,  in  some  way,  to  recognize  this  step  in  his 
history.  I  will  to-morrow  morning  call  your  attention  to 
some  of  the  more  notable  and  worthy  features  of  Gen.  Gar- 
field's  history  and  character." 

The  address  which  President  Hmsdale  delivered  on  the 
occasion  is  as  follows: 

YOUNG  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN:  I  am  not  going  to  at 
tempt  a  formal  address  on  the  life  and  character  of  Gen. 
Garfield.  There  is  now  no  call  for  such  an  attempt,  and  I 
have  made  no  adequate  preparations  for  such  a  task.  My 
object  is  far  humbler:  simply  to  hold  up  to  your  minds 
some  points  in  his  history,  and  some  features  in  his  char 
acter  that  young  men  and  women  may  study  with  interest 
and  profit. 

I  shall  begin  by  destroying  history,  or  what  is  commonly 
held  to  be  history.  The  popularly  accepted  account  of 
Gen.  Garfield's  history  and  character  is  largely  fabulous. 
We  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  ages  of  myth  and  legend 
are  gone;  under  proper  conditions  such  growths  spring  up 
now;  and  I  know  of  no  man  in  public  life  around  whom 
they  have  sprung  up  more  rankly  than  around  the  subject 
of  my  remarks. 

No  doubt  you  have  seen  some  of  the  stories  concerning 
him  and  his  family  that  appear  ever  and  anon  in  the  news- 


HOME  LIFE.  37 

papers;  that  his  mother  chopped  cord  wood ;  that  she  fought 
wolves  with  fire  to  keep  them  from  devouring  her  children, 
her  distinguished  son  being  one  of  the  group;  that  the  cir 
cumstances  of  the  family  were  the  most  pinching;  that 
Garfield  himself  could  not  read  at  the  age  of  21;  that  he 
was  peculiarly  reckless  in  his  early  life;  that,  when  he  had 
become  a  man,  he  went  down  from  the  pulpit  to  thrash  a 
bully  who  interrupted  him  in  his  sermon  on  the  patience 
of  Job. 

These,  stories,  and  others  like  them,  are  all  false  and  all 
harmful.  They  tail  of  accomplishing  the  very  purpose  for 
which  they  were  professedly  told — the  stimulation  of  youth. 
To  make  the  lives  of  the  great  distorted  and  monstrous  is 
not  to  make  them  fruitful  as  lessons. 

If  a  life  be  anomalous  and  outlandish,  it  is,  for  that 
reason,  the  poorer  example.  It  is  all  in  the  wrong  direc 
tion.  It  makes  the  impression  that,  in  human  history, 
there  is  no  cause  and  no  effect;  no  antecedent  and  no  con 
sequent;  that  everything  is  capricious  and  fitful;  and  sug 
gests  that  the  best  thing  to  do  is  to  abandon  one's  self  to 
the  currents  of  life,  trusting  that  'some  beneficent  gulf 
stream  will  seize  you  and  bear  you  to  some  happy  shore. 
No,  young  people,  do  not  heed  such  instruction  as  this. 

The  best  lives  for  them  to  study  are  those  that  are  natural 
and  symmetrical;  those  in  which  the  relation  between  cause 
and  effect  is  so  close  and  apparent  that  the  dullest  can  see 
it;  and  that  preach  in  the  plainest  terms  the  sermon  on  the 
text :  "  Whatever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  al^o  reap/' 

Irregular  and  abnormal  lives  will  do  for  "  studies,"  but 
healthy,  normal,  harmonious  lives  should  be  chosen  for 
example.  And  Gen.  Garfield's  lite  from  the  first  has  been 
emmei}tly  healthy,  normal,  and  well-proportioned. 

[e  was  born  in  the  woods  of  Orange,  Cuyahoga  County, 
in  1831.     His  father  died  when  the  son  was  a  year  and  a 


38  HTOKIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

half  old.  A  brain  Gartield's  circumstances  were  those  of 
his  neighbors.  Measured  by  our  standard  they  were  all 
poor;  they  lived  on  small  farms,  for  which  they,  had  gone 
in  debt,  hoping  to  clear  and  pay  for  them  by  their  toil. 
Garfield  dying,  left  his  wife  and  four  young  children  in  the 
condition  that  any  one  ot  his  neighbors  would  have  done 
in  like  circumstances — poor.  The  family  life  before  had 
been  close  and  hard  enough;  now  it  became  closer  and 
harder. 

Grandma  Garfield,  as  some  of  us  familiarly  call  her,  was 
a  woman  of  unusual  energy,  faith,  and  courage.  She  said 
the  children  should  not  be  separated,  hut  kept  them 
together;  and  that  the  home  should  be  maintained,  as 
when  its  head  was  living.  The  battle  was  a  hard  one,  and 
she  WOO  it.  All  honor  to  her,  but  let  us  not  make  her 
ridiculous  by  inventing  impossible  stories. 

To  external  appearance,  young  Garfi eld's  life  did  not 
differ  materially  from  the  lives  of  the  neighbors'  hoys. 

He  chopped  wood,  and  so  did  they;  he  mowed,  and  so 
did  they;  he  carried  butter  to  the  store  in  a  little  pail,  and 
KO  did  they.  Other  families  that  hid  not  lost  their  heads 
naturally  shot  ahead  of  the  Gariields  in  property;  but 
such  differences  counted  far  less  then  than  they  do  now. 
The  traits  of  his  maturer  character  appeared  early;  stmdi- 
ousness,  truthfulness,  generosity  of  nature,  and  mental 
power.  So  far  was  he  from  being  reckless,  that  he  was 
almost  serious,  reverent  and  thoughtful.  So  far  was  ho 
from  being  unable  to  read  at  21  that,  lie  waa  a  teacher 
in  the  district  schools  before  he  was  18. 

Tie  was  the  farthest  removed  from  being  a  pugilist, 
though  he  had  great  physical  strength  and  courage,  cool 
ness  of  mind,  was  left-handed  withal,  and  was  both  able 
and  disposed  to  defend  himself  and  all  his  rights,  and  did 
so  on  due  occasion. 


HOME  LIFE.  ,'# 

• 

His  three  months'  service  on  the  canal  has  been  the 
source  of  numerous  fables  and  morals.  The  morals  are  as 
false  as  the  fables,  and  more  misleading.  All  I  have  to 
say  about  it  is:  James  A.  Garfield  has  not  risen  to  the 
position  of  a  United  States  Senator  because  he  "ran  on  a 
canal."  Nor  is  it  because  he  chopped  more  wood  than  the 
neighbors'  boys.  Many  a  man  has  run  longer  on  the  canal, 
and  chopped  more  wood,  and  never  became  ti  Senator. 

Gen.  Garfield  once  rang  the  school  bell  when  a  student 
here.  That  did  not  make  him  the  man  he  is.  Convince 
me  that  it  did,  and  I  will  hang  up  a  bell  in  every  tree  in- 
the  campus,  and  set  you  all  to  ringing.  Thomas  Corwin, 
when  a  boy,  drove  a  wagon,  and  became  the  head  of  the 
Treasury;  Thomas  Ewing  boiled  salt,  and  became  a 
Senator;  Henry  Clay  rode  a  horse  to  mill  from  the 
;i  Slashes,"  and  he  became  the  great  commoner  of  tue 
West.  But  it  was  not  the  wagon,  the  salt,  and  horse  that 
made  these  men  great. 

These  are  interesting  facts  in  the  lives  of  these  illus 
trious  men;  they  show  that,  in  our  country,  it  has  been, 
and  still  is  possible  for  young  'men  of  ability,  energy,  mid 
determined  purpose  to  rise  above  a  lowly  condition,  and 
win  places  of  usefulness  and  honor.  Poverty  may  be  a 
good  school;  straightened  circumstances  may  develop 
power  and  character;  but  the  principal  conditions  of 
success  are  in  the  man,  and  not  in  his  surroundings. 

Garfield  is  the  man  he  is  because  nature  gave  him  a 
noble  endowment  of  faculties  that  he  has  nobly  handled. 
We  must  look  within,  and  not  without,  for  the  secret  of 
destiny.  The  thing  to  look  at  in  a  man's  life  are  his 
aspirations,  his  energy,  his  courage,  h:s  strength  of  \villr 
and  not  the  wood  he  may  have  chopped,  or  the  salt  he  may 
have  boiled.  How  a  man  works,  and  not  whut  he  ddes,"» 
the  test  of  worth. 


40  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

His  success  did  not  lie  in  his  technical  scholarship, o?  his 
ability  as  a  drill-master.  Teachers  are  plenty  who  much 
surpass  him  in  these  particulars.  He  had  great  ability  to 
p  a  subject;  to  organize  a  body  of  intellectual  materials; 
t-'i  amass  facts  and  work  out  striking  generalizations;  and, 
therefore,  he  excelled  in  rhetorical  exposition.  An  old 
pupil  who  has  often  heard  him  on  the  stump,  once  told  me, 
«tlu;  General  succeeds  best  when  talking  to  the  people  just 
as  lie  did  to  his  class."  lie  imparted  to  his  pupils  large 
ness  of  view,  enthusiasm,  and  called  out  of  them  unbounded 
devotion  to  himself. 

This  devotion  was  not  owing  to  any  plan  or  trick,  but  to 
the  qualities  of  the  man.  Mr.  H.  M.  James  of  the  Cleve 
land  schools,  an  old  Hiram  scholar,  speaking  of  the  old 
Hiram  days  before  Garfield  went  to  college,  once  wrote  me: 
"There  began  to  grow  up  in  me  an  admiration  and  love  for 
Garfield  that  has  never  abated,  and  the  like  of  which  1  have 
never  known.  A  bow  of  recognition,  or  a  simple  word 
from  hi  MI,  was  to  me  an -inspiration." 

Probably  all  were  not  equally  susceptible,  but  all  the  boys 
.who  were  long  under  his-  charge  (save,  perhaps,  a  few 
"  sticks  ")  would  speak  in  the  same  strain.  •  He  had  great 
power  to  energize  young  men.  Gen.  Garfield  has  carried 
the  same  qualities  into  public  life.  He  has  commanded 
£T»c?«??-5.  HI*  pbib'ty.  knowledge,  mastery  of  questions, 
generosity  of  nature,  devotion  to  the  public  good,  and 
honesty  of  purpose,  have  done  the  work.  He  has  never  had 
a  political  "machine."  He  Las  never  forgotten  the  day 
of  small  things.  He  has  never  made  personal  enemies. 

Jt  is  difficult  to  see  how  a  political  triumph  could  be 
more  complete  or  more  gratifying  than  his  election  to  the 
Senate.  No  "  bargains "  no  "  slate,'r  no  u  grocery  "  at 
Columbus.  He  did  not  even  go  to  the  Capital  City.  Such 
things  are  inspiring  to  those  who  think  politics  in  a  broad 


HOME  LIFE.  41 

way.  He  is  a  man  of  positive  convictions,  freely  uttered. 
Politically  he  may  be  called  a  "  man-of-war;  "  and  yet  few 
men,  or  none,  begrudge  him  his  triumph.  Democrats  vied 
with  Republicans  the  other  day  in  Washington  in  snowing 
him  under  with  congratulations;  some  of  them  were  as 
anxious  for  his  election  as  any  Republican  could  be. 

It  is  is  said  he  will  go  to  the  Senate  without  an  enemy 
on  either  side  of  the  chamber.  These  things  are  honorable 
to  all  parties.  They  show  that  manhood  is  more  than 
party.  The  Senator  is  honored,  Ohio  is  honored,  and  so 
is  the  school  in  Hiram,  with  which  he  was  connected  so 
many  years.  The  whole  story  abounds  in  interest,  and  I 
hope  I  have  so  told  it  as  to  bring  out  some  of  its  best 
points,  and  to  give  you  stimulus  and  cheer. 

<Ln  Interesting  Story  in  Connection  with  the  Sick  room-General  Garfield  as 

a  Header. 

The  methods  of  study  which  Gen.  Garfield  adopted  in 
early  life  have  never  been  abandoned.  There  are  few  public 
men  who  have  any  spare  time  for  books;  Gen.  Garfield  is 
one  of  the  few.  He  always  reads. 

He  believes  in  the  principle  that  change  is  rest,  and,  to 
relieve  himself  from  the  tedium  of  Congressional  business, 
he  resorts  to  literature.  It  is  said  that  nearly  all  great 
orators  have  been  fine  talkers. 

Gen.  Garfield  is  a  remarkable  conversationalist.  His  pri 
vate  talk,  when  the  harness  of  politics  has  been  laid  aside, 
is  brilliant  and  fascinating.  He  seems  never  to  forget  any 
thing;  and  in  quiet  moments,  when  friends  are  by  him,  it  is 
pleasant  to  hear  him  tell  of  the  old  days,  and  to  dream  of 

the  future. 

He  is  so  full  of  pleasant  anecdote 
So  rich,  so  gay,  so  poignant  is  his  wit- 
Time  vanishes  before  him  as  he  speaks, 
And  ruddy  morning  through  the  lattice  peeps 
Ere  night  seems  well  begun. 


42  STOKIEti  AND  SKETCHES  OF  U  A  It  FIELD 

Some  years  ago  Gen.  Garfield  suffered  from  a  temporary 
disorder,  and  was  compelled  to  submit  to  a  paintul  surgical 
operation.  lie  lay  here  lor  six  weeks  in  this  tropical  sun, 
recovering  from  the  effects  of  that  operation.  The  town 
was  dead.  It  was  vacation  time.  Xot  one  member  of 
either  House  was  here.  On  one  of  these  burning  days  a 
friend  had  occasion  to  call  upon  him.  Everything  was 
quiet  and  peaceful  within. 

"  I  have  been  reading,"  said  Gen.  Garfield,  from  his  sick 
bed,  "charming,  silly  old  Bozzy's  journey  to  the  Hebrides, 
over  again.  He  is  always  the  same  kindly,  lazy,  genial,  old 
man,  forever  saying  good  things — a  sleek,  soft-handed,  soft 
hearted  giant  of  a  fellow." 

44 1  have  read,"  he  said,  turning  to  his  visitor,  "  since  I 
have  been  lying  here,  struggling  with  this  pain,  eighteen 
volumes;  and  I  have  indexed  and  commonplaced  them  all. 
Pretty  fair  work,  I  take  it,  for  six  weeks  of  midsummer  in 
Washington. 

The  sick-room  bore  witness  to  this  convalescent  industry. 

The  narrative  of  Bozzy's  journey  lay  beside  him,  and  an 
immense  atlas,  supported  by  an  elevated  stand,  stood  near 
the  bed,  opened  at  the  map  which  showed  the  course  of 
Bozzy  in  the  journey  to  the  Hebrides.  A  faithful  wife 
was  tracing  with  a  pencil  the  ins  and  outs  which  the  genial 
old  philosopher  took  on  his  way  to  these  Northern  islands. 
It  was  in  this  way  that  Garfield  was  turning  to  profit  the 
leisure  that  the  surgeon's  knife  had  given  him. 


Garfield  at  Home-  His  Residence  at  Mentor  -His  Family  and  His  Mother. 

Gen.  Garfield  is  the  possessor  of  two  homes,  and  his 
family  migrates  twice  a  year.  Some  ten  years  ago,  finding 
how  unsatisfactory  lite  was  in  hotels  and  boarding-houses, 


HOME  LIFE.  43 

he  bought  a  lot  of  ground  on  the  corner  of  Thirteenth  and 
I  streets,  in  Washington,  D.  0.,  and,  with  money  borrowed 
of  a  friend,  built  a  plain,  substantial  three-story  house.  A 
wing  was  extended  afterward  to  make  room  for  the  fast- 
growing  library.  The  money  was  repaid  in  time,  and  was 
probably  saved  in  great  part  from  what  would  otherwise 
have  gone  to  landlords.  The  children  grew  up  in  pleasant 
home  surroundings,  and  the  house  became  a  center  of  much 
simple  and  cordial  hospitality. 

Five  or  six  years  ago  the  little  cottage  at  Hiram  was 
sold,  and  for  a  time  the  only  residence  the  Garfields  had  in 
his  district  was  a  summer-house  he  built  on  Little  Mount 
ain,  a  bold  elevation  in  Lake  County,  which  commands  a 
view  ot  thirty  miles  of  rich  farming  country  stretched  along 
the  shore  of  Lake  Erie. 

Three  years  ago  he  bought  a  farm  in  Mentor,  in  the  same 
county,  lying  on  both  sides  of  the  Lake  Shore  and  Michi- 
g  ui  Southern  .Railroad.  Here  his  family  spend  all  the  time 
when  he  is  tree  from  his  duties  in  Washington. 

The  farm-house  is  a  low,  old-fashioned,  story-and-a-half 
building,  but  its  limited  accommodations  have  been  sup 
plemented  by  numerous  outbuildings,  one  of  which  den. 
Gartield  uses  for  office  and  library  purposes. 

The  farm  contains  about  160  acres  of  excellent  land,  in  a 
high  state  of  cultivation,  and  the  Congressman  finds  a  recre 
ation,  of  which  he  never  tires,  in  directing  the  field  work 
and  making  improvements  in  the  buildings,  fences,  and 
orchards.  Cleveland  is  only  twenty-live  miles  away;  there 
is  a  postofiice  and  a  railway  station  within  half  a  mile,  and 
the  pretty  country  town  of  Painesville  is  but  live  miles 
distant.  One  of  the  pleasures  of  summer  life  on  the  Gar- 
field  farm  is  a  drive  of  two  miles  through  the  woods  to  the 
lake  shore  and  a  bath  in  the  breakers. 

Gen.  Gartield  has  five  children  living,  and  has  lost  two, 


44  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

who  died  in  infancy.  The  two  older  boys.  Harry  and 
,1  aines,  are  now  at  school  in  New  Hampshire.  Mary,  or 
Molly  as  everybody  calls  her,  is  a  handsome,  rosy-cheeked 
girl  of  about  12.  The  two  younger  boys  are  named  Irwin 
and  Abram. 

The  General's  mother  is  still  living,  and  has  long  been  » 
member  of  his  family.  She  is  an  intelligent,  energetic  old 
lady,  with  a  clear  head  and  a  strong  will,  who  keeps  well 
posted  in  the  news  of  the  day,  and  is  very  proud  of  her 
son's  career,  though  more  liberal  of  criticism  than  of 
praise. 


Gen.  Garfield's  First  Important  Speech  After  His  Nomination  —  It  is  Deliv 
ered  to  the  Students  of  Hiram  College  on  "  Commencement  Day  "— 
An  Interesting  Address. 

Gen.  Garfield  returned  home  from  his  nomination  in 
Chicago  to  be  present  "Commencement  Day"  at  little 
Hi  ram,  where  he  had  once  been  professor,  and  afterwards 
president  of  the  institution.  Here  Garfield  met  his  wife 
for  the  first  time  since  his  nomination,  and  that,  too,  at  the 
very  house  where  their  acquaintance  began,  within  a  stone's 
throw  ot  the  college.  To  the  students  and  his  college 
friends  there  assembled  he  spoke  most  grandly.  After  a 
brief  reference  to  old  associations,  he  added  the  following 
evidently  impromptu  remarks: 

u  FELLOW  CITIZENS,  OLD  NEIGHBORS,  AND  FRIENDS  OF 
MANY  YEARS:  It  has  always  given  me  pleasure  to  come 
back  here  and  look  upon  these  faces.  It  has  always  given 
me  new  courage  and  new  friends,  for  it  has  brought  back  a 
large  share  of  that  richness  which  belongs  to  those  things 
out  of  which  come  the  joys  of  life. 

"While  sitting  here  this  afternoon,  watching  your  faces 


HOME  LIFE.  :\ 

and  listening  to  the  very  interesting  address  which  has  just 
been  delivered,  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  the  least  thing 
yon  have,  that  all  men  have  enough  of,  is  perhaps  the  thing 
that  you  care  for  the  least,  and  that  is  your  leisure — the 
leisure  you  have  to  think;  the  leisure  you  have  to  be  let 
alone;  the  leisure  you  have  to  throw  the  plummet  into  your 
-mind,  and  sound  the  depth  and  dive  for  things  below;  the 
leisure  you  have  to  walk  about  the  towers  yourself,  and  find 
how  strong  they  are  or  how  weak  they  are,  to  determine 
what  needs  building  up;  how  to  work,  and  how  to  know  all 
that  shall  make  you  the  final  beings  you  are  to  be.  Oh, 
these  hours  of  building! 

"  If  the  Superior  Being  of  the  universe  would  look  down 
upon  the  world  to  find  the  most  interesting  object,  it  would 
be  the  unfinished,  unformed  character  of  the  young  man  or 
young  woman.  Those  behind  me  have  probably  in  the 
main  settled  this  question.  Those  who  have  passed  into 
middle  manhood  and  middle  womanhood  are  about  what  we 
shall  always  be,  and  there  is  but  little  left  of  interest,  as 
their  characters  are  all  developed. 

"  But  to  your  young  and  your  yet  unformed  natures,  no 
man  knows  the  possibilities  that  lie  before  you  in  your, 
hearts  and  intellects;  and,  while  you  are  working  out  the 
possibilities  with  that  splendid  leisure  that  you  need,  you 
are  to  be  most  envied.  I  congratulate  you  on  your  leisure. 
I  commend  you  to  treat  it  as  your  gold,  as  your  wealth,  as 
your  treasure,  out  of  which  you  can  draw  all  possible  treas 
ures  that  can  be  laid  down  when  you  have  your  natures 
unfolded  and  developed  in  the  possibilities  of  the  future. 

"  This  place  is  too  full  of  memories  for  me  to  trust  my 
self  to  speak  upon,  and  I  will  not.  But  I  draw  again  to 
day,  as  I  have  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  life,  evidence  of 
strength,  confidence,  and  affection  from  the  people  who 
gather  in  this  place.  I  thank  you  for  the  permission  to  see 
you  and  meet  you  and  greet  you  as  I  have  done  to-day." 


46  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIBLD. 

Garfield  "Photographed"  by  "Gath"-A    Remarkably     Interesting    Pen- 

Picture  of  the  Great  Man -His  Physical,  Social,  Moral, 

and  Intellectual  Powers. 

9 

The  following  exceedingly  interesting  description  of  Gen. 
G;irn'eld  was  written  by  the  celebrated  "Gath"  soon  after 
Garfield's  nomination  as  President: 

The  writer  has  known  Gen.  Garfield  pretty  well  for 
thirteen  years.  lie  is  a  large,  well-fed,  hale,  ruddy,  brown- 
bearded  man,  weighing  about  220  pounds,  with  Ohio  Ger 
man  colors,  blue  eyes,  military  face,  erect  figure  and  shoul 
ders,  large  back  and  thighs,  and  broad  chest,  and  evidently 
bred  in  the  country  on  a  farm.  His  large  mouth  is  full  of 
strong  teeth,  his  nose,  chin,  and  brows  are  strongly  pro 
nounced.  A  large  brain,  with  room  lor  play  of  thought 
and  long  application,  rises  high  above  his  clear,  discerning, 
enjoying  eyes.  He  sometimes  suggests  a  country  Samson, — 
strong  beyond  his  knowledge,  but  unguarded  as  a  school 
boy. 

He  pays  little  attention  to  the  affectation  by  which  some 
men  manage  public  opinion,  and  has  one  kind  of  behavior 
for  all  callers,  which  is  the  most  natural  behavior  at  hand. 
Strangers  would  think  him  a  little  cold,  and  mentally  shy. 
On  acquaintance  he  is  seen  to  be  hearty  above  every  tiling, 
loving  the  life  around  him,  his  family,  his  friends,  his  State 
and  country.  Loving  sympathetic  and  achieving  poople, 
and  with  a  large  unprofessing  sense  of  the  brotherhood  of 
workers  in  the  fields  of  progress,  it  was  the  feeling  of  sym 
pathy  and  the  desire  to  impart  which  took  him  for  chief; 
while  as  to  the  pulpit,  or  on  the  verge  of  it,  full  of  all  that 
he  saw  and  acquired,  he  panted  to  give  it  forth,  after  it  had 
passed  through  the  alembic  of  his  mind. 

Endowed  with  a  warm  temperament,  copious  expression, 
large,  wide-seeing  faculties,  and  superabundant  health,  he 
could  study  all  night  and  teach  or  lecture  all  day,  and  it 


HOME  LIFE.  47 

was  a  providence  that  his  neighbors  discovered  he  was  too 
much  of  a  man  to  cor.ceal  in  the  pulpit,  where  his  docility 
and  reverence  had  almost  taken  him.  They  sent  him  to  the 
State  Legislature,  where  he  was  when  the  war  broke  out, 
and  he  immediately  went  to  the  field,  where  his  courage 
and  painstaking  parts,  and  love  of  open  air  occupation,  and 
perfect  freedom  from  self-assertion,  made  him  the  delight 
of  Hosecrans  and  George  II.  Thomas  successively.  He 
would  go  about  any  work  they  asked  of  him,  was  unselfish 
and  enthusiastic,  and  had  steady,  temperate  habits,  and  his 
large  brain  and  his  reverence  made  everything  novel  to  him. 

There  is  an  entire  absence  of  non-balance  or  worldliness 
in  his  nature.  He  is  never  indifferent,  never  vindictive. 
A  base  action  or  ingratitude  or  cruelty  may  make  him  sad, 
but  does  not  provoke  retaliation,  nor  alter  that  faith  in  men 
or  Providence  which  is  a  part  of  his  sound  stomach  and 
athletic  head.-  Garfield  is  simple  as  a  child;  to  the  ser 
pent's  wisdom  he  is  a  stranger.  Having  no  use  nor  apti 
tude  with  the  weapons  of  coarser  natures,  he  often  avoids 
mere  disputes,  does  not  go  to  public  resorts  where  men  are 
familiar  or  vulgar,  and  the  walk  from  his  home  in  Wash 
ington  to  the  Capitol,  and  an  occasional  dinner  out,  com 
prise  his  life. 

The  word  public  servant  especially  applies  to  him.  He 
has  been  the  drudge  of  his  State  constituents,  the  public, 
the  public  societies,  the  moral  societies,  and  of  his  party 
and  country  since  1863.  Aptitude  for  public  debate  and 
public  affairs  are  associated  with  a  military  nature  in  him. 
He  is  on  a  broad  scale  a  schoolmaster  of  the  range  of  Glad 
stone,  of  Agassiz,  of  Gallatin.  With  as  honest  a  heart  as 

o  ~ 

ever  beat  above  the  competitors  of  sordid  ambition,  Gen. 
Garfield  has  yet  so  little  of  the  worldly  wise  in  him  that 
he  is  poor,  and  yet  has  been  accused  of  dishonesty. 
-  He  has  no  capacity  for  investment,  nor  the  rapid  solution 


STORIES  AXD  SKETCHES  OF  QARFIELD. 

of  wealth,  nor  profound  respect  for  the  penny  in  and  out 
of  pound,  and  still  is  neither  careless,  improvident,  nor 
d» -prudent.  The 'grout  consuming  passion  to  equal  richer 
le,  and  live  finely,  and  extend  his  social  power  is  as 
ion-jgn  to  him  as  scheming  or  cheating.  But  he  is  not  a 
suspicious  nor  a  high  mettled  man,  and  so  he  is  taken  in 
sometimes,  partly  from  his  obliging,  unref using  disposition. 
Men  who  were  scheming  imposed  upon  him  as  upon  Grant, 
and  other  men.  The  people  of  his  district,  who  are  quick 
to  punish  public  venality  or  defection,  heard  him  in  his 
defense  in  1873  and  kept  him  in  Congress  and  held  up  his 
hand,  and  hence  he  is  by  their  unwavering  support  for 
twenty -five  years  candidate  for  President  and  a  National 
character. 

Since  John  Quincy  Adams  no  President  has  had  Gar- 
field's  scholarship,  which  is  equally  up  to  this  age  of  wider 
facts.  The  average  American,  pursuing  money  all  day 
long,  is  now  presented  to  a  man  who  had  invariably  put  the 
business  of  others  above  his  own,  and  worked  for  that 
alleged  nondescript — the  public — gratitude  all  his  life.  But 
he  has  not  labored  without  reward.  1  he  great  nomination 
came  to-day  to  as  pure  and  loving  a  man  as  ever  wished  well 
of  anybody  and  put  his  shoulder  to  his  neighbor's  wheel. 

Garfield's  big,  boyish  heart  is  pained  to-night  with  the 
weight  of  his  obligation,  affection,  and  responsibility.  To 
day,  as  hundreds  of  telegrams  came  from  everywhere,  say 
ing  kind,  strong  things  to  him — such  messages  as  only 
Americans  in  their  rapid,  good  impulses  pour  upon  a  lucky 
friend — he  was  with  two  volunteer  clerks  in  a  room  open 
ing  and  reading,  and  suddenly  his  two  boys  sent  him  one — • 
little  fellows  at  school — and  as  he  read  it  he  broke  down, 
and  tried  to  talk,  but  his  voice  choked,  and  he  could  not  see 
for  tears.  The  clerks  began  to  blubber,  too,  and  people  to 
whom  they  afterward  told  it. 


HOME  LiFE.  49 

Tliis  sense  of  real  great  heart  will  be  new  to  the  country, 
and  will  grow  if  he  gets  the  Presidency.  His  wife  was  one 
of  his  scholars  in  Ohio.  Like  him,  she  is  of  a  Xow  England 
•family,  transplanted  to  the  West,  a  pure-hearted,  brave,  un 
assuming  woman;  the  mother  of  seven  or  eight  children, 
and,  as  he  told  me  only  a  few  weeks  ago,  had  never,  by  any 
remark,  brought  him  into  the  least  trouble,  while  she  was 
nnstampedable  by  any  clamor. 

He  is  the  ablest  public  speaker  in  the  country,  and  the 
most  serious  and  instructive  man  on  the  stump.  His  in 
stincts,  liberal  and  right;  his  courtesy,  noticeable  in  our 
politics;  his  aims,  ingenuous;  and  his  piety  comes  by  na 
ture.  He  leads  a  farmer's  life,  all  the  recess  of  Congress 
working  like  a  field-hand,  and  restoring  his  mind  by  resting 
it.  If  elected,  he  will  give  a  tone  of  culture  and  intelligence 
to  the  Executive  office  it  has  never  yet  had,  while  he  has  no 
pedantry  in  his  composition,  and  no  conceit  whatever. 

Gen.  Gartield  may  be  worth  $25,000,  or  a  little  more  than 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  when  he  took  the  office.  His  old  mother,, 
a  genial  lady,  lives  in  his  family,  and  his  kindness  to  heron 
every  occasion  bears  out  the  commandment  of  "  Honor  thy 
father  and  thy  mother,  that  thy  days  may  be  long  in  the 
land." 


A  Splendid  Record— Summary  of  Garfield's  Labors— The  Rewards  of  Industry, 

It  is  astonishing  how  much  there  is  in  the  story  of  Gen. 
Garfield's  life  to  excite  the  sympathy,  appeal  to  the  pride, 
and  call  out  the  commendation  of  young  men  and  old  men 
who  believe  in  the  dignity  of  American  citizenship. 

In  1840,  an  orphan  boy  struggling  along  the  prosaic  dead 
level  of  life  on  a  farm;  in  1847,  working  steadily  under  the 
hardships  and  drudgery  of  a  canal-boatman's  experience;  in 
1849,  an  aspiring  student,  supporting  himself  at  an  acad- 


5*  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

emy;  in  1850,  a  teacher  in  a  country  school,  earning  money 
to  forward  his  ambition  to  become  an  educated  man;  in 
1854,  a  stubborn  student  at  college;  in  1858,  a  young  man 
struggling  against  the  debts  incurred  in  educating  himself; 
in  1859,  President  of  an  educational  institute  and  a  State 
Senator;  in  I860,  influential  as  a  man  and  prominent  as  a 
politician;  in  1861,  the  Colonel  of  a  Union  regiment,  and 
the  commander  of  a  brigade,  driving  for  ward  with  resistless 
energy  into  Eastern  Kentucky;  in  1862,  a  Brigadier  Gen 
eral,  and  then  a  Major  General;  in  1863,  occupying  Gid^ 
dings'  seat  in  Congress;  re-elected  in  1864,  1866,  1868, 
1870,  1872,  1874,-  1876,  and  1878,  and  for  nearly  all  the 
time  an  acknowledged  leader;  elected  United  States  Sen 
ator  in  January,  1880,  and  nominated  President  in  June. 

This  is  the  ideal  career  of  the  ambitious  or  aspiring 
American  boy.  Here  is  a  man  who,  beginning  life  as  a 
poor  boy,  has  in  truth  fought  his  way  to  distinction.  Pure 
and  courageous  as  a  boy,  ambitious  and  self-reliant  as  a 
young  man,  tireless  and  brave  as  a  soldier,  aggressive  but 
even-tempered  as  a  leader  in  Congress,  Gen.  Garfield  has 
retained  every  friendship  of  his  youth,  held  fast  to  every 
comrade  of  his  soldier  experience,  and  commanded  the 
respect  of  all  his  co-laborers  in  Congress. 

Gartield's  life  is  the  story  of  a  young  man  who  has  suc 
ceeded  through  his  own  efforts.  Having  passed  through 
all  the  trials  common  to  boys  arid  young  men  in  this  coun 
try,  he  has  achieved  the  distinction  which  we  teach,  as  a 
part  of  our  American  system,  all  our  boys  to  strive  for. 
He  is  from  the  people  and  of  the  people,  a  pure,  kind- 
hearted,  tolerant,  broad-spirited,  and  distinguished  man. 

Such  a  life  record  is  a  source  of  pride  to  any  man  who 
thoroughly  believes  in  the  possibilities  of  the  American 
system  of  education  and  government.  It  must  be  an  ele 
ment  of  strength  to  the  Presidential  candidate  of  any  party. 


HOME  LIFE. 


51 


and,  judged  by  this  record,  by  his  talent,  experience,  and 
spirit,  Gariield  should  be  a  strong  candidate  for  the  Repub 
lican  party. 

It  is  a  good  sign  when  those  who  know  a  man  best  like 
him  best.  It  is  a  good  sign  when  those  who  have  beeu 
most  intimately  associated  with  a  man  arise  promptly  and 
voluntarily  to  testily  in  his  behalf.  It  is  a  good  sign  when 
men  are  attracted  to  another  man  because  ke  is  a  man  of 
heart  and  principle. 


HIRAM  COLLEGE. 


WAR   RECORD. 


•Garfleld  in  War— How  He  Voluntered  to  put  down  the  Rebellion,  and  was 
Promoted-  Interesting  Incidents  on  the  Field  of  Battle. 

Troops  were  being  raised  in  Ohio  early  in  1861,  and 
Gen.  Garfield  at  once  notified  Governor  Dennison  of  his 
<iesire  to  enter  the  service.  Garfield  was  sent  to  New 
York  by  Governor  Dennison  to  secure  arms  for  the 
equipment  of  the  Ohio  troops,  and  upon  his  return  was 
offered  a  Lieutenant-Colonelcy  »in  a  proposed  regiment, 
which  was  never  organized. 

In  August,  1861,  however,  after  McClellan's  West 
Virginia  campaign,  Gen.  Garfield  was  appointed  Lieutenant 
Colonel  of  the  Forty-Second  Ohio  Regiment,  for  which  had 
been  recruited  many  of  his  old  pupils  at  the  Hiram 
Institute.  Gen.  Garfield  went  diligently  at  work  studying 
tactics,  and  after  five  weeks  of  camp  life  was  promoted  to 
the  Colonelcy  of  his  regiment,  and  started  for  the  field. 

The  regiment  went  first  to  Kentucky,  where  it  reported 
to  Gen.  Buell,  and  Garfield  was  at  once  assigned  the 
command  of  the  Seventeenth  Brigade,  and  ordered  to  drive 
the  rebel  forces,  under  Humphrey  Marshall,  out  of  Eastern 
Kentucky.  Up  to  that  date  no  active  operations  had  been 
attempted  west  of  the  Blue  "Ridge  Mountains,  and  Gen. 
Garfield  found  himself  in  command  of  four  regiments  of 
infantry  and  eight  companies  of  cavalrv.  charged  with  the 

53 


54  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  QARFIELD. 

important  work  of  driving-  out  of  his  native  State  an  officer 
reported  to  be  the  ablest  that  Kentucky  had  given  to  the 
rebellion, 

Gen.  Garfield  had  never  seen  a  gun  fired  in  action,  and 
had  no  knowledge  of  military  service  except  what  had  been 
gained  in  a  few  months'  experience.  Garfield  moved 
rapidly  up  the  valley,  with  a  force  numbering  only  2,200, 
to  meet  an  experienced  olHcer  with  5,000  well-equipped 
L;  but  Maishall  retreated  before  him,  and  after  a  slight 
skirmish,  (Airfield  found  himself  in  possession  of  the 
enemy's  camp  and  baggage,  lie  pushed  the  pursuit,  and 
was  reinforced  by  about  1,000  men.  The  fight  that 
followed  was  severe  at  times,  but  on  the  whole  desultory, 
a  -1  continued  three  days,  until  the  troops  had  become 
practically  disabled,  because  of  a  heavy  rainstorm  that 
Hooded  the  mountain  gorges,  and  made  ?o  strong  a  current 
in  the  rivers  that  Garfield's  supplies  were  unable  to  reach 
him.  • 

The  troops  were  almost  out  of  rations,  and  the  mountain 
ous  country  was  incapable  of  supporting  them.  Garfield 
went  by  land  to  the  base  of  his  supplies,  and  ordered  a. 
.-t earner  to  take  on  a  cargo  and  move  up  to  the  relief  of  his 
troops.  The  Captain  declared  it  was  impossible;  finally, 
(Airfield  ordered  the  Captain  and  his  crew  on  board, 
-rationed  >entinels  in  the  pilot-house,  and,  having  gained  a 
load,  started  up  stream.  The  water  in  the  usually  shallow 
river  was  sixty  feet  deep,  and  the  tree  tops  along  the  banks 
were  submerged. 

The  little  vessel  trembled  from  stem  to  stern  at  every 
motion  of  the  engines;  the  waters  whirled  her  about  as 
if  she  were  a  skiff,  and  the  utmost  speed  that  steam  could 
give  her  was  three  miles  an  hour.  When  night  fell,  the 
''.-iptain  of  the  boat  begged  permission  to  tie  up.  Ta 
attempt  ascending  the  flood  in  the  dark  he  declared  was. 


WA  R  RECORD.  55 

madness.  But  Gol.  Gftrfield  kept  his  place  at  the  wheel. 
Finally,  in  one  of  the  sudden  bends  of  the  river,  they  drove, 
with  a  full  head  of  steam,  into  the  hank.  Every  effort  to 
hack  her  off  was  in  vain.  Mattocks  were  procured,  and 
excavations  were  made  around  the  imbedded  how.  Still 
she  stuck.  Garfield  at  last  ordered  a  boat  to  be  lowered  to 
take  a  line  across  to  the  opposite  bank.  The  crew  protested 
against  venturing  out  in  the  flood.  The  Colonel  leaped 
into  the  boat  and  steered  it  over.  A  windlass  of  rails  was 
hastily  made,  and  with  a  long  line  the  vessel  was  warped 
off,  and  once  more  was  afloat. 

It  was  Saturday  when  they  left  Sandy  Creek.  All 
through  that  day  and  night,  Sunday  and  Sunday  night,  the 
boat  pushed  her  way  against  the  current,  Garfield  leaving 
the  wheel  but  eight  hours  of  the  whole  time.  At  nine 
o'clock  Monday  they  reached  camp,  and  Garfield  could 
scarcely  escape  being  borne  to  headquarters  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  men. 

During  the  months  of  January,  February  and  March 
there  were  numerous  encounters  with  mountain  guerrillas, 
but  the  Union  arms  finally  prevailed,  and  the  bands  of 
marauders  were  driven  from  the  State. 

Jn>t  on  the  border,  however,  at  the  rough  pass  across  the 
mountains  known  as  Pound  Gap,  Humphrey  Marshall  still 
held  a  post  of  observation,  with  a  force  of  about  5  00  men. 
On  the  14th  of  March,  Garfielcl  started  with  500  infantry 
and  a  couple  of  hundred  cavalry  against  this  detachment. 
The  distance  was  forty  miles.  The  roads  were  at  their 
worst,  but  by  evening  of  the  next  day  he  had  reached  the 
mountain  two  miles  north  of  the  gap. 

Next  morning  the  cavalry  were  deployed  up  the  gap 
road,  while  the  infantry  were  led  along  an  unfrequented 
path  on  the  side  of  the  mountain.  A  heavy  snowstorm 
also  helped  to  mask  the.  movement.  While  the  enemy 


STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  QARFIELD. 

•>MTC  watching  the  cavalry,  Garfield  had  led  the  infantry  to 
within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  their  camp.      Then  an  attack 
vras  ordered,  the  enemy  taken  by  surprise,  and  a  few  volleys 
ft    ;  them  in  confusion  down  the  side  of  the  mountain  into 
.i'iniii.     Considerable  quantities  of  stores  were  captured. 
Tliat  night  the  victorious  troops  rested  in  the  comfortable 
log  huts  built  by  the  enemy,  and  the  next  morning  burned 
i  down.    Six  days  afterward,  the  command  was  ordered 
t"  Louisville.     These  operations  had  been  conducted  with 
eiidi  energy  and  skill  as  to  receive  the  special  commenda 
tion  of  the  Government,  and  Col.  Garfield  was  given  a 
commission   as    Brigadier  General.      The   discomfiture  of 
.Humphrey  Marshall  was  a  source  of  special  chagrin  to  the 
rebel  sympathizers  of  Kentucky,  and  Gartield  took  rank  in 
the  popular  estimation  among  the  most  promising  of  the 
volunteer  Generals. 

On  his  return  to  Louisville  after  the  campaign,  he  found 
the  army  oi  the  Ohio  already  beyond  Nashville,  on  its 
way  to  Gen.  Grant's  aid  at  Pittsburg  Landing.  He 
.  hastened  after  it,  and  assumed  command  of  the  Twentieth 
Brigade.  He  readied  the  field  on  Pittsburg  Landing 
about  one  o'clock  on  the  second  day  of  the  battle,  and 
participated  in  the  closing  scenes. 

When  Gen.  Buell  sought  to  prepare  a  new  campaign,  he 
a«Tgn?d  Gen.  Garfield  to  the  task  of  rebuilding  the  bridges 
and  railroad  from  Corinth  to  Decatur.  After  performing 
thy  duty  with  great  skill  and  .energy,  he  found  himself 
reduced  by  fever  and  ague,  which  he  had  contracted  in  the 
days  of  his  tow-path  service  on  the  Ohio  Canal,  and  went 
home  on  sick  leave. 

S..  MI  after  he  received  orders  to  proceed  to  Cumberland 
Gap  and  relieve  Gen.  George  W.  Morgan  of  his  command  ; 
but  he  was  too  ill  to  leave  his  bed,  and  another  officer  was 
sent  to  the  service. 


WAR  RECORD.  57 

As  soon  as  his  health  would  permit,  he  was  ordered  to 
Washington,  where  he  was  placed  upon  court-martial  ior 
the  noted  trial  of  Fitz  John  Porter. 

Gen.  Garfield  was  one  of  the  clearest  and  foremost  in  the 
•conviction  of  Porter's  guilt,  and  had  the  bill  to  restore 
Porter  ever  been  brought  up  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  he  would  have  made  a  determined  opposition  to  its 
passage  ;  but  Gen.  Logan  finished  the  shameful  scheme  in 
the  Seriate,  and  Gen.  Garfield  never  had  an  opportunity  to 
deliver  a  speech  which  he  had  prepared  with  great 
thoroughness  and  care. 

After  the  trial  of  Fitz  John  Porter,  he  was  appointed 
Chief  of  Staff  to  Gen,  Rosecrans,  and  from  the  day  of  his 
appointment  became  the  intimate  associate  and  confidential 
adviser  of  his  chief.  Garh'eld's  influence  had  become  so 
important  in  shaping  campaigns  that  he  was  always  con 
sulted,  and  during  the  successful  campaigns  that  followed 
Ohickamauga  he  took  an  active  part. 

Gen.  Garfield's  military  career  did  not  subject  him  to 
trials  of  a  large  scale.  lie  approved  himself  a  good  inde 
pendent  commander  in  the  small  operations  in  Sandy 
Valley.  His  campaign  there  opened  our  series  of  successes 
in  the  West.  » 

As  a  Chief  of  Staff  he  was  unrivalled.  There,  as  else 
where,  he  was  ready  to  accept  the  gravest  responsibilities 
in  following  his  convictions.  The  bent  of  his  mind  was 
judicial,  and  his  judgment  of  military  matters  good. 

His  record  will  stand  for  him  a  monument  of  courage, 
and  his  conduct  at  Chickainauga  will  never  be  forgotten  by 
a  nation  of  brave  men. 


r>8  XTOKfRS  AND  8KB7CHB3  OF  GARFIBLD. 

Col.  Garfield's  First  Great  Battle    He  Defeats  Humphrey  Marshall  and  Wins 
a  Brigadier-Generalship. 

On  the  17th  of  December,  1801,  Garfield  left  Camp 
( 'base,  Ohio,  with  his  regiment  (Forty-second  Ohio)  under 
orders  for  the  Big  Sandy  Valley  region  in.  Eastern  Ken 
tucky.  Upon  arriving  in  Louisville  he  was  invited  by  Gen. 
Uiu'll  to  arrange  his  own  campaign,  and  he  accordingly  pre 
pared  a  pjan,  which  was  submitted  to  and  approved  by  the 
commanding  General.  The  next  day  he  started  for  hi& 
field  of  operations  with  a  command  consisting  of  four 
regiments  of  infantry  and  about  two  hundred  cavalry. 

The  Big  Sandy  was  reached  and  foj lowed  up  for  some 
sixty  miles  through  a  rough,  mountainous  region,  his  force 
driving  the  outposts  of  Gen.  Humphrey  Marshall  before 
them  for  a  considerable  distance. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  1862,  he  drove  the  enemy's  cav 
alry  from  Paintsville,  after  a  severe  skirmish,  killing  and 
wounding  twenty -five  of  them.  At  a  strong  point,  three 
miles  above  Paintsville,  Marshall  had  prepared  to  make  a 
stand,  with  4,500  infantry,  700  cavalry,  and  two  batteries 
of  six  guns  each;  but,  his  cavalry  being  driven  in,  his 
courage  failed,  and  he  hastily  evacuated  his  works  and 
retreated  up  the  river. 

The  rapid  marching  thus  far  had  much  exhausted  Gen. 
GarfiekVs  forces;  still,  he  resolved  to  pursue,  and,  selecting 
1,100  of  his  best  troops,  lie  continued  on  to  Prestonburg, 
a  distance  of  fifteen  miles.  There  he  found  the  Rebels 
strongly  posted  on  the  crest  of  a  hill,  at  once  attacked 
tin-in,  and  maintained  the  battle  during  five  hours,  the 
enemy's  cannon  meanwhile  playing  briskly. 

Although  most  of  Garticld's  troops  were  now  under  fire 
for  the  first  time,  their  daring  valor  swept  all  before  them. 
The  Eebels  were  driven  from  every 'position,  and,  after  de- 


WAR  RECORD.  5ft 

stroying  tlicir  stores,   wagons,  and   camp   equipage,  they 

retreated  in  disorder  to  Pound  Gap,  in  the  Cumberland 
Mountains.  This  was  the  first  brilliant  achievement  of  the 
War  in  the  West,  and  a  most  complete  and  humiliating 
defeat  to  the  Rebels,  their  loss  in  killed  and  wounded 
amounting  to  two  hundred  and  fifty,  in  addition  to  forty 
taken  prisoners,  while  the  Union  loss  was  but  thirty- two, 
all  told. 

It  is  said  that  at  the  time  of  this  battle,  Gen.  Garfield 
had  in  his  possession  a  letter  written  a  short  time  before 
by  Humphrey  Marshall  to  his  wife,  but  intercepted  by  Gen. 
Buell  and  sent  to  Gen.  Garfield,  in  which  Marshall  stated 
that  he  had  five  thousand  effective  men  in  his  command. 
This  letter  General  Garfield  refrained  from  showing  to  his 
officers  and  men  until  after  the  battle.  His  commission  as 
Brigadier  dated  from  the  battle  of  Prestonburg. 


Full  details  of  Garfield's  Pound-Gap  Expedition -Strategy  and  Victory-Battle 
of  Fittsburg  Landing,  Etc. 

About  the  middle  of  March  he  made  his  famous  Pound- 
Gap  expedition,  fur  a  proper  understanding  of  which  a  few 
words  descriptive  of  the  locality  will  be  necessary.  Pound- 
Gap  is  a  zig-zag  opening  through  the  Cumberland  Moun 
tains  into  Virginia,  leading  into  a  tract  of  fertile  meadow- 
land  lying  between  the  base  of  the  mountains  and  a  stream 
called  Pound  Fork,  which  bends  around  the  opening  of  the 
gap,  at  some  little  distance  from  it,  forming  what  is  called 
"  the  Pound."  These  names  originated  in  this  wise:  This 
mountain  locality  was  for  a  long  time  the  home  of  certain 
predatory  Indians,  from  which  they  would  make  periodical 
forays  into  Virginia  tor  plunder,  and  to  which  they  would 
retreat  as  rapidly  as  they  came,  carrying  with  them  the 
stolen  cattle,  which  they  would  pasture  in  the  meadow-land 


60  STORIES  AND  SKETCHED  OF  GARFlELl). 

just  mentioned.  Hence,  among  the  settlers  it  became 
known  as  "The  Pound,"  and  from  it  the  gap  and  stream 
took  their  names.  After  his  defeat  at  Prestonburg,  as  has 
been  stated,  Humphrey  Marshall  retreated  with  his 
.-(•uttered  forces  through  the  gap  into  Virginia.  A  force  of 
500  rebels  was  left  to  guard  the  pass  against  any  sudden 
incursion  of  Gen.  Garfield's  force,  who,  to  make  assurance 
doubly  sure,  had  built  directly  across  the  gap  a  formidable 
breastwork,  completely  blocking  up  the  way,  and  behind 
which  500  men  could  resist  the  attack  of  as  many  thousand. 
Behind  these  works,  and  on  the  southwestern  slope  of  the 
mountains,  they  had  erected  commodious  cabins  for  winter 
quarters,  where  they  spent  their  time  in  ease  and  comfort, 
occasionally — by  way  of  variety,  and  in  imitation  of  their 
Indian  predecessors — descending  from  their  stronghold 
into  Kentucky,  greatly  to  the  damage  of  the  stock-yards 
and  h'xlers  of  the  well-to-do  fanners  of  that  vicinity,  and  to 
the  ,  !  :;ht  of  their  wives  and  children. 

(Jen.  Garfield  determined  to  dislodge  them  from  their 
position,  and  so  put  an  end  to  their  maurauding  expe 
ditions.  He  accordingly  set  out  with  a  sufficient  force,  and 
after  two  days'  forced  march  reached  the  base  of  the 
mountains  a  short  distance  above  the  gap.  Of  the  strength 
of  the  rebels  and  their  position  he  had  been  well  informed 
by  the  spies  he  had  sent  out,  who  had  penetrated  to  their 
very  camp  in  the  absence  of  the  usual  pickets,  which  were 
never  thrown  out  by  them,  so  secure  did  they  feel  in  their 
mountain  fortress.  It  would  have  been  madness  to  enter 
the  gap  and  attack  them  in  front,  and  the  General  did  not 
propose  or  attempt  it.  Halting  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains 
f.»r  the  night,  he  sent  his  cavalry  early  the  next  morning  to 
the  mouth  of  the  gap  to  menace  the  rebels  and  draw  them 
from  behind  their  defences.  This  they  did,  arriving  al  a 
given  time  and  threatening  an  attack.  The  rebels  jumped 


WAR  RECORD.  01 

at  tl  e  bait  and  at  once  came  out  to  meet  them,  our  men 
rapidly  retreating,  and  the  rebels  following  until  the  latter 
were  some  distance  in  front  of  their  breastworks  instead 
of  ')ehind  them.  Meantime,  Gen.  Garfield,  with  his 
infantry,  had  scaled  the  mountain-side,  in  the  lace  ol  e 
blinding  snow-storm,  and,  inarching  along  a  narrow  ridge 
on  the  summit,  had  reached  the  enemy's  camp  in  the  rear 
of  his  fortifications.  A  vigorous  attack  was  now  made, 
resulting  in  the  complete  route  ot  the  rebels,  many  of 
whom  were  killed,  wounded,  or  taken  prisoners,  and  the 
remainder  dispersed  through  the  mountains.  The  General 
now  reassembled  his  forces,  and  spen  a  comfortable  night 
in  the  enemy's  quarters,  faring  sumptuously  on  the  viands 
there  found.  The  next  morning  the  cabins,  sixty  in 
number,  were  burned,  the  breastworks  destroyed,  and  the 
General  set  out  on  his  return  to  Piketon,  which  he  reached 
the  following  night,  having  been  absent  four  days,  and 
having  marched  in  that  time  about  one  hundred  miles  over 
a  broken  country.  On  his  return  he  received  orders  from 
Gen.  Buell,  at  Nashville,  to  report  to  him  in  person. 
Arriving  at  that  place,  he  found  that  Buell  had  already 
begun  his  march  towards  Pittsburg  Landing,  and  pushed 
on  after  him. 

Overtaking  the  army,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
Twelfth  Brigade,  and,  with  his  command,  participated  in 
the  second  day's  fight  at  Shiloh.  lie  was  present  through 
all  the  operations  in  front  of  Corinth,  and,  after  the  evacua 
tion  of  that  place,  rebuilt,  with  his  brigade,  the  bridges  on 
the  Memphis  &  Charleston  Railroad,  and  erected  fortifica 
tions  at  Stevenson.  Throughout  the  months  of  July  and 
August  he  was  prostrated  by  severe  sickness,  and,  conse 
quently,  was  not  in  the  retreat  to  Kentucky  or  the  battles 
fought  in  that  State.  During  his  illness  he  was  assigned 
to  the  command  jf  the  forces  at  Cumberland  Gap,  but 


AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

could  not  assume  it.  Upon  his  recovery,  lie  was  ordered  to 
Washington,  and  detailed  as  a  member  of  the  Fitz  John 
Porter  court  martial,  which  occupied  forty-five  days,  and  in 
which  his  great  abilities  as  a  lawyer  a:ul  a  soldier  were 
called  forth  and  freely  recognized.  When  the  court 
adjourned  he  was  ordered  to  report  to  Gen.  Rosecrans,  and 
by  him  was  placed  in  the  responsible  position  of  Chief 
of  Staff,  though  at  first  it  had  been  intended  to  give  him 
only  the  command  of  a  division  in  the  field. 


Gen.  Garfield's  Proclamation  to  the  Citizens  of  Sandy  Valley. 

On  the  16th  day  of  January,  1862,  Garfield,  then  in 
command  of  the  Union  forces  in  Eastern  Kentucky,  issued 
the  following  address  to  the  inhabitants: 

*'  CITIZENS  OF  SANDY  VALLEY  :  I  have  come  among  you  to  re 
store  the  honor  of  the  Union,  and  to  bring  back  the  old  banner 
which  you  once  loved,  but  which,  by  the  machinations  of  evil 
men,  and  by  mutual  misunderstanding,  has  been  disnonored  amojig 
you.  To  those  who  are  in  arms  against  the  Federal  Government 
I  offer  only  the  alternate  of  battle  or  unconditional  surrender. 
But  to  those  who  have  taken  no  part  in  this  war,  who  are  in  no 
way  aiding  or  abetting  the  enemies  of  this  Union— even  to  those 
who  hold  sentiments  averse  to  the  Union,  but  will  give  no  aid  or 
comfort  to  its  enemies— I  offer  the  full  protection  of  the  Govern 
ment,  both  in  their  persons  and  property. 

"Let  those  who  have  been  seduced  away  from  the  love  of  their 
country  to  follow  after  and  aid  the  destroyers  of  our  peace  lay 
down  their  arms,  return  to  their  homes,  bear  true  allegiance  to  the 
Federal  Government,  and  they  shall  also  enjoy  like  protection. 
The  armv  of  the  Union  wages  no  war  of  plunder,  but  comes  to 
bring  back  the  prosperity  of  peace.  Let  all  peace-loving  citizens 
who  have  lied  from  their  homes  return  and  resume  again  the  pur 
suits  of  peace  and  industry.  If  citizens  have  suffered  from  any 
outrages  by  the  soldiers  under  my  command,  I  invite  them  to  make 
known  their  complaints  to  ine,  and  their  wrongs  shall  be  redressed 
and  the  offenders  punished.  I  expect  the  friends  of  the  Union  in 
this  valley  to  banish  from  among  them  all  pi:vitte  feuds,  and  let  a 


WAR  RECORD.  03 

liberal  love  of  country  direct  their  conduct  toward  those  who 
have  been  so  sadly  estrayed  and  misguided,  hoping  that  these  days 
of  turbulence  may  soon  be  ended  and  the  days  of  the  Republic 
soon  return.  J.  A.  GAHFIELD, 

"  Colonel  Commanding  Brigade." 

Gen.  Garfield  moved  his  fonvs  to  Piketon,  Ky.,  120 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sandy.  Here  he  re 
mained  several  weeks;  sending  out,  meanwhile,  expeditions 
in  every  direction  wherever  he  could  hear  of  a  Rebel  camp 
or  band,  and  at  length  completely  cleared  the  whole  coun 
try  of  the  enemy. 


Heroic  Conduct  of  Gen.  Garfield  on  the  Field  of  Chickamaugna— Driving  Back 
Longstreet's  Columns  and  Saving  Gen.  Thomas. 

Gen.  Garfield  was  made  a  Major-General  for  "  gallant 
and  meritorious  Cervices  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga." 
What  those  services  were  may  be  learned  from  the  follow 
ing  extract  from  the  history  of  the  Forty-second  Ohio  In 
fantry,  page  18: 

Trying  vainly  to  check  the  retreat  [of  Rosecrans]  Gen. 
Garfield  was  swept  with  his  chief  back  beyond  Rossville. 
But  the  Chief  of  Staff  could  not  concede  that  defeat  had 
been  entire.  He  heard  the  roar  of  Thomas'  guns  on  the 
left,  and  gained  permission  of  Rosecrans  to  go  around 
to  that  quarter  and  mid  the  Army  of  the  Cumber 
land.  While  the  commander  busied  himself  with  pre- 
p'V'ing  a  refuge  at  Chattanooga  for  his  routed  army,  his 
Chief  of  Staff  went  back  accompanied  by  a  staff  officer  and 
a  few  orderlies,  to  find  whatever  part  of  the  army  still  held 
its  ground  and  save  what  was  lost.  It  was  a  perilous  ride. 
Long  before  he  reached  Thomas  one  of  his  orderlies  was 
killed.  Almost  alone  he  pushed  on  over  the  obstructed 
road,  through  pursuers  and  pursued,  found  the  heroic 
Thomas  encircled  by  fire,  but  still  firm,  told  him  of  the 


£4  8TORIEK  AM>  SKETCH  EX  OF  UARF1ELD. 

rer  on  tin-  right,  and  explained  how  he  could  withdraw 
Li-  right  wing  and  fix  it  upon  a  new  line  to  meet  Long- 
Bti  ••'-••».]  mini.  The  movement  was  made  just  in  time, 
but  Thomas'  line  was  too  short.  It  would  not  reach  to 
tli-  l>ase  of  the  mountain.  Longstreet  sa\v  the  gap,  drove 
his  column  into  it,  and  would  have  struck  Thomas'  column 
fatally  in  the  rear.  In  that  critical  moment  Gen.  Gordon 
Grander  came  up  with  Steedman's  division,  which  moved 
in  hea\  v  column,  threw  itself  upon  Lon.^street,  and  after  a 
terrific  struggle  drove  him  buck.  The  dead  and  wounded 
lay  in  heaps  where  these  two  columns  met,  but  the  army 
of  Gen.  Thomas  was  saved.  As  night  closed  in  around  the 
heroic  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  Gens.  Garfield  and 
Granger,  on  foot  and  enveloped  in  smoke,  directed  the 
loading  and  pointing  of  a  battery  of  Napoleon  guns,  whose 
flash,  as  they  thundered  after  the  retreating  column 
of  the  assailants,  wras  the  last  light  that  shone  upon  the 
battlefield  of  Chickamauga. 

This  ride  of  Garfield's  was  one  of  the  gallantest  acts  of 
the  war,  and  so  recognized  at  the  time  by  the  Government 
and  people.  It  earned  Garfield  the  lasting  friendship  and 
regard  of  Gen.  Thomas  and  all  associated  with  him,  and 
him  a  name  as  a  brave  soldier  which  no  malicious 
scribbler  can  now  take  away. 

A  correspondent  on  the  field,  W.  S.  Furay,  under  date 
of  September  21,  18(33,  after  describing  the  perilous  con 
dition  of  the  Union  Army,  speaks  of  Garfield's  ride  and 
arrival  on  the  battlefield,  as  follows: 

Ju.-t  before  the  storm  broke,  the  brave  and  high-souled 
.Garfield  was  perceived  making  his  way  to  the  headquarters 
of  Gen.  Thomas.  lie  had  come  to  be  present  at  the  final 
contest,  and  in  order  to  do  so  had  ridden  all  the  way  from 
Chattanooga,  passing  through  a  fiery  ordeal  upon  the  road. 
His  horse  was  shot  under  him,  and  his  orderly  was  killed 


WAR 

by  his  side.  Still  he  had  come  through,  ho  scarce  knew 
how,  and  here  he  was  to  inspire  iresh  courage  into  the 
hearts  of  the  brave  soldi  err,  who  were  holding  the  ei'tr.ny 
at  bay,  to  bring  them  words  of  greeting  from  Gen.  Hose- 
crans,  and  to  inform  them  that  the  latter  was  reorganizing: 
the  scattered  troops,  and,  as  fast  as  possible,  would  hurry 
them  forward  to  their  relief. 

Jnst  upon  the  side  of  the  hill,  to  the  left,  and  in  rear  of 
the  still  smoking  ruins  of  the  house,  was  gathered  a  group 
whose  names  are  destined  to  be  historical — Thomas,, 
"VVhitaker,  Granger,  Garfield,  Steedman,  Wood.  Calmly 
they  watched  the  progress  of  the  tempest,  speculated  upon 
its  duration  and  strength,  and  devised  methods  to  break  its 
fury.  The  future  analyst  will  delight  to  dwell  upon  the 
characteristics  and  achievements  of  each  member  of  tin's- 
group,  and  even  the  historian  of  the  present,  hastening  to 
the  .completion  of  his  task,  is  constrained  to  pause  a 
moment  only  to  repeat  their  names — Whitaker,  Garfield, 
Granger,  Thomas,  Steedman,  Wood. 

The  fight  around  the  hill  now  raged  with  terror  inex 
perienced  before,  even  upon  this  terrible  day.  Our 
soldiers  were  formed  in  two  lines,  and  as  each  marched  up 
to  the  crest  and  fired  a  deadly  volley  at  the  deadly  foe, 
it  fell  .back  a  little  ways,  the  men  lay  down  upon  the 
ground  to  load  their  guns,  a-nd  the  second  line  advanced  to 
take  their  place!  They,  too,  in  their  turn  retired,  and 
then  the  lines  kept  marching  back  and  forth,  and  deliver 
ing  their  withering  volleys,  till  the  very  brain  grew  dizzy- 
as  it  watched  them.  And  all  the  time  not  a  man  wavered. 
Every  motion  was  executed  with  as  much  precision  as 
though  the  troops  were  on  a  holiday  parade,  notwith 
standing  the  flower  of  the  rebel  army  were  swarming 
around  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  a  score  of  cannon  were 
thundering  from  three  sides  upon  it. 


STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  OARFIELD. 


0(1 


But  our  troops  are  no  longer  satisfied  with  the  defensive. 
Gen.  Turchiii,  at  the  head  of  his  brigade  charged  into  the 
rebel  lines,  and  cut  his  way  out  again,  bringing  with  him 
300  prisoners.  Other  portions  of  this  brave  band  followed 
Turchin's  example,  until  the  legions  of  the  enemy  were 
fairly  driven  back  to  the  ground  they  occupied  previous  to 
commencing  the  fight.  Thus  did  12,000  or  15,000  men, 
animated  by  heroic  impulses-,  and  inspired  by  worthy 
leaders,  save  from  destruction  the  Army  of  the  Cumber 
land.  Let  the  Nation  honor  them  as  they  deserve. 

Among  those  killed  at  this  battle  were:  Gen.  W.  II. 
Lytle;  Col.  Grose,  commanding  a  brigade  in  Palmer's 
division;  Col.  Baldwin,  commanding  a  brigade  in  Johnson's 
division;  Major  Wall,  of  Gen.  Davis' staff;  Capt  Eussell, 
A.  A.  G.  on  Gen.  Granger's  staff;  Col.  II.  C.  Heg,  com 
manding  brigade  in  Gen.  Davis' division;  Capt.  Tinker, 
of  the  Sixth  Ohio,  and  Capt.  Parshall,  of  the  Thirty-fifth 
Ohio. 


Closing  Scenes  in  Garfleld's  War  Eecord  -  Why  He  Left  the  Army. 

In  1862,  while  still  an  officer  in  the  army,  he  was  elected 
a  Kepresentative  in  Congress  from  Ohio,  from  the  old  Gid. 
dings  district.  About  the  same  time  he  was  sent  to  Wash 
ington  as  the  bearer  of  dispatches.  He  there  learned  for 
the  first  time  of  his  promotion  to  a  Major-Generalship  of 
volunteers  "  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  at  the  bat 
tle  of  Chickamauga."  He  might  have  retained  this  posi 
tion  in  the  army;  and  the  military  capacity  he  had  dis 
played,  the  high  favor  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  Gov 
ernment,  and  the  certainty  of  his  assignment  to  important 
commands,  seemed  to  augur  a  brilliant  future.  He  was  a 


WAR  RECORD. 


poor  man,  too,  and  the  Major-General's  salary  was  more 
than  double  that  of  the  Congressman.  But,  on  mature  re 
flection,  he  decided  that  the  circumstanced  under  which  the 
people  had  elected  him  to  Congress  in  a  measure  compelled 
him  to  obey  their  wishes.  lie  was  furthermore  urged  to 
enter  Congress  by  the  officers  of  the  army,  who  looked  to 
him  for  aid  in  procuring  such  military  legislation  as  the 
country  needed  and  the  army  required.  Under  the  belief 
that  the  path  of  usefulness  to  the  country  lay  in  the  direc 
tion  in  which  his  constituents  had  pointed,  Gen.  Garfield 
sacrificed  what  seemed  to  be  his  personal  interests,  ard,  OP 
the  5th  of  December,  1863,  resigned  his  commissi^ 
nearly  three  years'  service,  to  enter  Congress. 


GEN.  GARFIELD'S  Kl^IDKM'K   IN  WASHINGTON. 


SPEECHES. 


Gen,  Garfield  is  Called  to  the  Halls  of  Congress  from  the  Fields  of  War— How 

it  was  Done— Early  Experience  of  the  Farmer  Boy 

on  the  Floor. 

The  Congressional  District  in  which  Garfield  lived  was 
the  one  long  made  famous  by  Joshua  R.  Giddings.  The 
old  anti-slavery  champion  grew  careless  of  the  arts  of  poli 
tics  toward  the  end  of  his  career,  and  came  to  look  upon  a 
nomination  and  a  re-election  as  a  matter  of  course. 

His  over-confidence  was  taken  advantage  of  in  1858  by 
an  ambitious  lawyer  named  Hutchins  to  carry  a  conven 
tion  against  him.  The  friends  of  Giddings  never  forgave 
Hutchins,  and  cast  about  for  a  means  of  defeating  him. 
The  old  man  himself  was  comfortably  quartered  in  his  Con 
sulate  at  Montreal,  and  did  not  care  to  make  a  fight  to  get 
fcack  to  Congress.  So  his  supporters  made  use  of  the  pop 
ularity  of  Gen.  Garfield  and  nominated  him  when  he  was 
in  the  field  without  asking  his  consent.  This  was  in  1862. 

When  he  heard  of  the  nomination  Garfield  reflected  that 
it  would  be  fifteen  months  before  the  Congress  would  meet 
to  which  he  would  be  elected,  and  believing,  as  did  every 
one  else,  that  the  war  could  not  possibly  last  a  year  longer, 
concluded  to  accept.  I  have  often  heard  him,  says  a  friend, 
express  regret  that  he  did  not  help  fight  the  war  through, 
and  say  that  he  never  would  have  left  the  army  to  go  to 


10  STORIES  AND  SKE2CHES  OF  QARFIELD. 

Congress  had  he  foreseen  that  the  struggle  would  continue 
beyond  the  year  1863.  He  continued  his  military  service 
up  to  the  time  Congress  met. 

He  was  elected  to  succeed  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  who  had 
served  for  twenty  years  as  the  representative  from  the  dis 
trict  composed  of  the  large  and  prosperous  counties  in 
Northeastern  Ohio.  He  resigned  from  the  army  under  the 
belief  that  the  path  of  usefulness  to  his  country  lay  in  the 
direction  of  Congress  rather  than  the  military  service.  He 
sacrificed  what  seemed  to  be  his  personal  interest,  and 
resigning  his  commission  he  entered  the  Thirty-eighth 
Congress.  Before  taking  his  seat  he  was  promoted  to 
Major  General  of  volunteers. 

On  entering  Congress,  in  December,  1863,  Gen.  Garfield 
was  placed  upon  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  with 
Schenck  and  Farnsworth,  who  were  also  fresh  from  the 
field.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  debates  of  the  House, 
and  won  a  recognition  which  few  new  members  succeed  in 
gaining. 

He  was  not  popular  among  his  fellow  members  during 
his  first  term.  They  thought  him  something  of  a  pedant 
because  he  sometimes  showed  his  scholarship  in  his 
speeches,  and  they  were  jealous  of  his  prominence.  His 
solid  attainments  and  able  social  qualities  enabled  him  to- 
overcome  this  prejudice  during  his  second  term,  and  he  be 
came  on  terms  of  close  friendship  with  the  best  men  in 
both  Houses. 

His  committee  service  during  his  second  term  was  on  the 
Ways  and  Means,  which  was  quite  to  his  taste,  for  it  gave 
him  an  opportunity  to  prosecute  the  studies  in  finance  and 
political  economy  which  he  had  always  felt  a  fondness  for. 
He  was  a  hard  worker  and  a  great  reader  in  those  days,, 
going  home  with  his  arms  full  of  books  from  the  Congres 
sional  Library,  and  sitting  up  late  of  nights  to  read  them. 


SPEECHES.  71 

It  v/as  then  that  he  laid  the  foundations  of  the  convictions 
on  the  subject  of  National  Finance,  which  he  has  since  held 
to  firmly  amid  all  the  storms  of  political  agitation.  He  wag 
renominated  in  1864,  without  opposition,  but  in  1860  Mr. 
Hutchins,  whom  he  had  supplanted,  made  an  effort  to  de 
feat  him.  Hutching  canvassed  the  district  thoroughly,  but 
the  convention  nominated  Garfield  by  acclamation.  He 
has  had  no  opposition  since  by  his  own  party. 

In  1872  the  Liberals  and  Democrats  united  to  beat  him, 
but  his  majority  was  larger  than  ever.  In  1874  the  Green- 
backers  and  Democrats  combined  and  put  up  a  popular 
soldier  against  him,  but  they  made  no  impression  on  the 
result.  The  Ashtabula  district,  as  it  is  generally  called,  is 
the  most  faithful  to  its  representatives  of  any  in  the  North. 
It  has  had  but  four  members  in  half  a  century. 


Seventeen   Tears  a  Member  of  Congress -Garfield's    Great    Work  in    the 
Halls  of  Legislation— A  Triumphant  Leader. 

In  the  Fortieth  Congress  Gen.  Garfieid  was  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs.  In  the  Forty-first  he 
was  given  the  Chairmanship  of  Banking  and  Currency, 
which  he  liked  much  better,  because  it  was  in  the  line  of 
his  financial  studies.  His  next  promotion  was  to  the  Chair 
manship  of  the  Appropriations  Committee,  which  he  held 
until  the  Democrats  came  into  power  in  the  House  in  1875. 
His  chief  work  on  that  committee  was  a  steady  and  judi 
cious  reduction  of  the  expenses  of  the  Government.  In 
all  the  political  struggles  in  Congress  he  has  borne  a  lead 
ing  part,  his  clear,  vigorous,  and  moderate  style  of  argu 
ment  making  him  one  of  the  most  effective  debaters  in 
either  House. 

When  James  G.  Elaine  went  to  the  Senate  in  1877  the 


T2          STORIES  AX:.)  xi;.L:::c2-iES  OF  GARF/ELD. 

mantle  of  Republican  leadership  was  by  common  consent 
I > tared  upon  Gartield,  and  he  lias  worn  it  ever<sauee.- 

Recently  Gen.  Gartield  was  elected  to  the  Senate  to  the 
neat  vacated  by  Allen  G.  Thurman  on  the  4th  of  March, 
ISS1.  He  received  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Republican 
•'Caucus,  an  honor  never  given  to  any  man  of  any  party  in 
the  State  of  Ohio.  Since  his  election  he  has  been  the  re 
cipient  of  many  complimentary  manifestations  in  Washing- 
ton  and  in  Ohio. 

As  a  leader  in  the  House  he  is  more  cautious  and  less 
dashing  than  Blame,  and  his  judicial  turn  of  mind  makes 
'him  too  prone  to  look  for  t\vo  sides  of  a  question  for  him 
to  be  an  efficient  partisan.  When  the  issue  fairly  touches 
his  convictions,  however,  he  becomes  thoroughly  aroused 
and  strikes  tremendous  blows.  Elaine's  tactics  were  to 
continually  harrass  the  enemy  by  sharp-shooting  surprises 
and  picket  firing.  Garfield  waits  for  an  opportunity  to 
deliver  a  pitched  battle,  and  his  generalship  is  shown  to 
best  advantage  when  the  fight  is  a  fair  one  and  waged  on 
grounds  where  each  party  thinks  itself  strongest.  Then 
;his  solid  shot  of  argument  are  exceedingly  effective.  On 
the  stump  Garfield  is  one  of  the  very  best  orators  in  the 
Republican  party.  He  has  a  good  voice,  an  air  of  evident 
sincerity,  great  clearness  and  vigor  of  statement,  and  a  way 
cf  linitt::^  h::  rirgYimcntc  together  so  as  to  make  a  speech 
deepen  its  impression  on  the  mind  of  the  hearer  until  the 
climax  is  reached. 

Of  his  industry  and  studious  habits  a  great  deal  might 
be  said,  but  a  single  illustration  will  have  to  suffice  here. 
Once  during  the  busiest  ^art  of  a  very  busy  session  at 
Washington,  says  a  friend,  "  I  found  him  in  his  library 
behind  a  big  barricade  of  books.  This  was  no  unusual 
sight,  but  when  I  glanced  at  the  volumes  I  saw  -that  they 
were  all  different  editions  of  Horace,  or  books  relating  to 
that  poet." 


SPEECHES.,  73 

"  I  find  I  am  overworked,  and  need  recreation,"  said  the 
General. 

"  Now,  rny  theory  is  that  the  best  way  to  rest  the  mind 
is  not  to  let  it  be  idle,  but  to  put  it  at  something  quite  out 
side  the  ordinary  line  of  its  employment.  So  I  am  resting 
by  learning  all  the  Congressional  Library  can  show  about 
Horace  and  the  various  editions  and  translations  of  his 
poe^ns." 

Through  the  contests  of  the  Fortieth  Congress  with  the 
President  he  was  firmly  on  the  radical  side.  His  health 
was  seriously  impaired  by  his  laborious  discharge  of  public 
duties,  and  at  the  close  of  the  summer  session,  by  the 
advice  of  his  physician,  he  sailed  for  Europe. 

Since  his  first  election  Gen.  Garfield  has  served  consecu 
tively  in  Congress,  and  has  been  the  leader  on  the  Republi 
can  side  for  the  last  five  years;  his  speeches  are  among  the 
most  effective  ever  delivered  by  any  man  in  any  parliamen 
tary  body,  and,  while  as  a  leader  he  has  not  been  considered 
sufficiently  aggressive,  his  advice  has  always  been  carefully 
heeded,  and  has-been  effectual  in  holding  back  the  more 
radical  of  the  Republicans. 


6arfleld  on  the  Democracy-Extract  from  one  of  his  Old  Speeches-His  Walk 
in  the  Democratic  Graveyard. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  speech  delivered  by 
Gen  Garfield,  August  4th,  1876,  in  the  National  House 
of  Representatives : 

Mr.  Chairman:  It  is  now  time  to  inquire  as  to  the  fitness 
of  this  Democratic  party  to  take  control  of  our  great  nation 
and  its  vast  and  important  interest  for  the  next  four  years. 
I  put  the  question  to  the  gentleman  from  Mississippi  (Mr. 
Lamar),  what  has  the  Democratic  party  done  to  merit  that 
great  trust?  He  tries  to  show  in  what  respects  it  would 


74  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  QARFIELD. 

not  be  dangerous.  I  ask  him  to  show  in  what  it  would  be 
safe  ? 

I  affirm,  and  I  believe  I  do  not  misrepresent  the  great 
Democratic  party,  that  in  the  last  sixteen  years  they  have 
not  advanced  one  great  national  idea  that  is  not  to-day 
exploded  and  as  dead  as  Julius  Caesar.  And  if  any 
Democrat  here  will  rise  and  name  a  great  national  doctrine 
his  party  has  advanced,  within  that  time,  that  is  now  alive 
and  believed  in,  I  will  yield  to  him.  (A  pause.)  In  default 
of  an  answer,  I  will  attempt  to  prove  my  negative. 

What  were  the  great  central  doctrines  of  the  Democratic 
party  in  the  Presidential  struggle  of  1860?  The  followers 
of  Breckenridge  said  slavery  had  a  right  to  go  wherever  the 
Constitution  goes.  Do  you  believe  that  to-day?  And  is 
there  a  man  on  this  continent  that  holds  that  doctrine 
to-day?  Not  one.  That  doctrine  is  dead  and  buried.  The 
other  wing  of  the  Democracy  held  that  slavery  might  be 
established  in  the  Territories  if  the  people  wanted  it.  Does 
anybody  hold  that  doctrine  to-day?  Dead,  absolutely  dead! 

Come  down  to  1864.  Your  party,  under  the  lead  of 
Tilden  and  Vallandigham,  declared  the  experiment  of  war 
to  save  the  Union  was  a  failure.  Do  you  believe  that 
doctrine  to-day?  That  doctrine  was  shot  to  death  by  the 
i^uns  of  Farragut  at  Mobile,  and  driven,  in  a  tempest  of 
fire,  from  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah  by  Sheridan,  less 
than  a  month  after  its  birth  at  Chicago. 

O 

Come  down  to  1868.  You  declared  the  constitutional 
amendments  revolutionary  and  void.  Does  any  man  on 
this  floor  say  so  to-day?  If  so,  let  him  rise  and  declare  it. 

Do  you  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Broadhead  letter 
of  1868,  that  the  so-called  constitutional  amendments  should 
be  disregarded?  No;  the  gentleman  from  Mississippi 
accepts  the  results  of  the  war!  The  Democratic  doctrine 
of  1868  is  dead! 


SPEECHES.  75 

I  walk  across  that  Democratic  camping-ground  as  in  a 
graveyard.  Under  my  feet  resound  the  hollow  echoes  of 
the  dead.  There  lies  slavery,  a  black  marble  column  at  the 
head  of  its  grave,  on  which  I  read:  Died  in  the  flames  of 
the  civil  war;  loved  in  its  life;  lamented  in  its  death; 
followed  to  its  bier  by  its  only  mourner,  the  Democratic 
party,  but  dead!  And  here  is  a  double  grave:  sacred  to 
the  memory  of  squatter  sovereignty.  Died  in  the  cam 
paign  of  I860.  On  the  reverse  side:  Socred  to  the  memory 
of  Dred  Scott  and  the  Breckenridge  doctrine.  Both  dead 
at  the  hands  of  Abraham  Lincoln!  And  here  a  monument 
of  brimstone:  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  rebellion;  the 
war  against  it  is  a  failure;  Tilden  et  VaWindujham 
fecei^unt,  A.  D.  1864.  Dead  on  the  field  of  battle;  shot  to 
death  by  the  million  guns  of  the  Republic.  The  doctrine 
of  secession ;  of  State  sovereignty,  Dead.  Expired  in  the 
flames  of  civil  war,  amid  the  blazing  rafters  of  the  con 
federacy,  except  that  the  modern  ^Eneas,  fleeing  out  of  the 
flames  of  that  ruin,  bears  on  his  back  another  Anchises  of 
State  sovereignty,  and  brings  it  here  in  the  person  of  the 
honorable  gentleman  from  the  Appomattox  district  of 
Virginia  (Mr.  Tucker).  All  else  is  dead! 

T^ow,  gentlemen,  are  you  sad,  are  you  sorry  for  these 
deaths?  Are  you  not  glad  that  secession  is  dead?  that 
slavery  is  dead?  that  squatter  sovereignty  is  dead?  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  failure  of  the  war  is  dead?  Then  you  are 
glad  that  you  were  outvoted  in  1860,  in  1864,  in  1868,  and 
in  1872.  If  you  have  tears  to  shed  over  these  losses,  shed 
them  in  the  grave-yard,  but  not  in  this  House  of  living 
men.  I  know  that  many  a  Southern  man  rejoices  that 
these  issues  are  dead.  The  gentleman  from  Mississippi 
(Mr.  Lamar)  has  clothed  his  joy  with  eloquence. 

Now,  gentlemen,  if  you  yourselves  are  glad  that  you  have 
suffered  defeat  during  the  last  sixteen  years,  will  you  not 


78  STORTES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  OARFIELD. 

be  equally  glad  when  you  suffer  defeat  next  November? 
But  pardon  that  remark;  I  regret  it;  I  should  use  no 
bravado. 

Now,  gentlemen,  come  with  me  for  a  moment  into 
the  camp  of  the  Republican  party  and  review  its  career. 
Our  central  doctrine  in  1860  was  that  slavery  should  never 
extend  itself  over  another  foot  of  American  soil.  Is  that 
doctrine  dead?  It  is  folded  away  like  a  victorious  banner; 
its  truth  is  alive  for  evermore  on  this  continent.  In  1864 
we  declared  that  we  would  put  down  the  rebellion  and 
secession.  And  that  doctrine  lives,  and  will  live  when  the 
second  Centennial  has  arrived.  Freedom,  national,  uni 
versal,  and  perpetual — our  great  constitutional  amend 
ments,  are  they  alive  or  dead?  Alive,  thank  the  God  that 
shields  both  liberty  and  union.  And  our  national  credit! 
saved  from  the  assaults  of  Pendleton;  saved  from  the 
assaults  of  those  who  struck  it  later,  rising  higher  and 
higher  at  home  and  abroad:  and  only  now  in  doubt  lest  its 
chief,  its  only  enemy,  the  Democracy,  should  triumph  in 
November. 


Garfield's    Speech    at  the    Wisconsin  Republican  ,  Re-union  -Outlining  the 
Condition  of  the  Country. 

At  the  Twenty-fifth  Reunion  of  the  Wisconsin  Repub 
licans,  held  at  Madison,  in  July,  1879,  Gen.  Garfield  spoke 
as  follows: 

This  vast  assembly  must  have  richly  enjoyed  the  review 
of  the  party's  history  presented  here  and  celebrated  here 
to-day,  and  not  ^nly  a  review  of  the  past,  but  the  hopeful 
promises  made  for  the  future  of  that  great  party.  The 
Republican  party,  organized  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago, 
was  made  a  necessity  to  carry  out  the  pledges  of  the  fathers 
that  this  should  be  a  land  of  liberty. 


SPEECHES.  77 

There  was  in  the  early  days  of  the  Republic,  a  Repub 
lican  party  that  dedicated  this  very  territory,  and  all  our 
vast  territory,  to  freedom,  that  promised  much  for  schools, 
that  abolished  imprisonment  for  debt,  and  that  instituted 
many  wise  reforms.  But  there  were  many  conservatives 
in  those  days,  whose  measures  degenerated  into  treason; 
and  the  Republican  party  of  to-day  was  but  the  revival  of 
the  Republican  party  of  seventy  years  ago,  under  new  and 
broader  conditions  of  usefulness. 

It  is  well  to  remember  and  honor  the  greatest  names  of 
the  Republican  party.  One  of  these  is  Joshua  R.  Giddings, 
who  for  twenty  years  was  freedom's  champion  in  Congress, 
and,  from  a  feeble  minority  of  two,  lived  to  see  a  Republi 
can  Speaker  elected,  and  hingself  to  conduct  him  to  the 
chair.  Another  is  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  man  raised  up  by 
God  for  a  great  mission.  ISro  man  ever  had  a  truer  appre 
ciation  of  the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence,  that  great  charter  which  it  was  the  mission  of  the 
Republican  party  to  enforce. 

There  was  a  fitness  in  the  first  platform  of  the  Wiscon 
sin  Republicans  that  they  based  themselves  upon  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  While  the  Republicans,  from 
the  first,  have  been  true  to  their  principles,  perfecting  all 
they  promised,  as  proved  to-day  by  the  whole  record,  the 
Democrats,  on  the  other  hand,  steadily  wrong,  have  been 
forced  from  one  bad  position  to  another. 

Can  any  Democrat  point  with  pricle  to  his  party  plat 
forms  of  1854,  or  find  in  them  any  living  issue  ?  The  issues 
they  then  presented  led  us  into  war  and  involved  us  in  a 
great  National  debt.  Looking  for  the  cause  of  that  debt  I 
say  that  the  Democratic  party  caused  it. 

We  are,  as  a  Nation,  emerging  from  difficulties,  and  the 
Republican  party  alone  can  probably  claim  that  the  bright 
est  page  of  our  country's  history  has  been  written  by  the 


78  STORIEr  AND  /"KETCHES  OF  GARFIELJ). 

true  friends  of  freedom  and  progress.  The  Republican 
party  has  yet  work  t~  'lo.  "Y7b  aro  conftonted  to-day  in. 
Congress  by  nearly  the  samo  spirit  that  prevailed  in  the 
years  just  before  the  \rar. 

They  tell  us  that  tho  Kational  Government  is  but  the 
servant  of  the  States;  that  wo  Ehail  not  interpose,  as  a 
Nation,  to  guarantee  an  honest  election  in  a  State;  that  if 
we  will  interpose,  they  will  deny  appropriations.  Is  this 
less  dangerous  than  their  position  in  1SC1?  Have  we  no 
interest  except  in  local  elections,  no  power  tr  guard  the 
ballot-box  and  protect  ourselves  against  outrages  upon  it? 
"Why  does  tho  South  make  thir  issue?  I  answer:  They 
have  a  solid  South,  and  only  need  to  carry  ()]L«>  and  .New 
York  to  elect  the  President,  Jind  they  trust  to  carry  these 
States  by  the  means  they  best  know  how  to  use. 

There  are  sentimentalists  a  id  optimists  who  may  see  no 
danger  in  this.  There  had  been  sentimentalists  and  opti 
mists  in  the  Republican  party,  but  to-day  all  were  stalwarts. 
President  ITay^s,  when  ho  came  into  office,  was  an  optimist, 
but  he  saw  all  his  hopes  of  conciliation  'frustrated  and  all 
his  advances  met  with  scorn.  We  all  now  stand  together 
on  the  issue  as  one. 


Gar-field's  Celebrated  Speech  n.t  the  Andersonville  Reunion  Held   at  Toledo, 
Ohio,  Oct.  3,  1*79— How  the  General  Looks  "Without  Gloves!" 

The  following  is  the  full  text  of  Gen.  Garfield's  speech  at 
the  Andersonville  reunion  at  Toled^  on  Oct.  3,  1879. 

"My  COMRADES,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN:  I  have  ad 
dressed  a  great  many  audiences,  but  I  never  before  stood 
in  the  presence  of  ~nr  that  I  felt  so  wholly  unworthy  to 
speak  to.  A  man  wh^  came  through  the  war  without 
being  shot  or  made  prisoner  is  almost  out  of  place  in 
such  an  assemblage  as  this. 


SPEECHES.  79 

While  1  have  listened  to  you  this  evening  I  have  re 
membered  the  words  of  the  distinguished  English 
man,  who  once  said,  '  that  he  was  willing  to  die  for 
his  country.'  Now  to  say  that  a  man  is  willing  to  die 
for  his  country  is  a  good  deal,  but  these  men  who  sit  before 
us  have  said  a  great  deal  more  than  that.  I  would  like  to 
know  where  the  man  is  that  would  calmly  step  out  on  the 
platform  and  say :  i  I  am  ready  to  starve  to  death  for  my 
country.'  That  is  an  enormous  thing  to  say,  but  there 
is  a  harder  thing  than  that.  Find  a  man,  if  you  can,  who 
will  walk  out  before  this  audience  and  say:  <  I  am  willing 
to  become  an  idiot  for  my  country.'  How  many  men 
could  you  find  who  would  volunteer  to  become  idiots  for 
their  country? 

Now  let  me  make  this  statement  to  you,  fellow-citizens: 
One  hundred  and  eighty -eight  thousand  such  men  as  this 
were  captured  by  the  rebels  who  were  fighting  our  govern 
ment.  One  hundred  and  eighty-eight  thousand!  How 
many  is  that?  They  tell  me  there  are  4,500  men  and 
women  in  this  building  to-night!  Multiply  this  mighty 
audience  by  forty  and  you  will  have  about  188,000. 
Forty  times  this  great  audience  were  prisoners  of  war  to 
the  enemies  of  our  country.  And  to  every  man  of  that 
enormous  company  there  stood  open  night  and  day  the 
oifer:  'If  you  will  join  the  rebel  army,  and  lift  up  your 
hand  against  your  flag,  you  are  free.'  " 

A  voice—"  That's  so." 

Gen.  Garfield— "'And  you  shall  have  food,  and  you 
shall  have  clothing,  and  you  shall  see  wife,  and  mother,  and 
child.'" 

j±  voice — "  "We  didn't  ao  it,  though." 

Gen.  Garfield— "And  do  you  know  that  out  of  that 
188,000  there  were  less  than  3,000  who  accepted  the 
offer?  And  of  those  3,000,  perhaps  nine-tenths  of  them 


60  KTORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  QARFIELD. 

did  it  with  the  mental  reservation  that  they  would  desert  at 
the  first  hour — the  first  moment  there  was  an  opportunity.'* 
Voices— "That's  so." 

Gen.  Gai-fuild— " But  185,000  out  of  the  188,000  said: 
'No!  not  to  see  wife  again;  not  to  see  child  again;  not  to 
avoid  starvation;  not  to  avoid  idiocy;  not  to  avoid  the 
most  loathsome  of  deaths,  will  I  lift  this  hand  against  my 
country  forever.'  Now,  we  praise  the  ladies  for  their 
patriotism;  we  praise  our  good  citizens  at  home  for  their 
patriotism;  we  praise  the  gallant  soldiers  who  fought  arid 
fell.  But  what  were  all  these  things  compared  with  that 
yonder?  I  how  in  reverence.  I  would  stand  with 
undsandakd  feet  in  the  presence  of  such  heroism  and  such 
Buffering;  and  I  would  say  to  you.  fellow-citizens,  such 
an  assemblage  as  this  has  never  yet  before  met  on  this  great 
earth. 

""Who  have  reunions?  I  will  not  trench  upon  forbidden 
ground,  but  let  me  say  this:  Nothing  on  the  earth  and 
under  the  sky  can  call  men  together  for  reunions  except 
ideas  that  have  immortal  truth  and  immortal  life  in  them. 
The  animals  fight.  Lions  and  tigers  fight  as  ferociously 
as  did  you.  Wild  beasts  tear  to  the  death,  but  they  never 
hax'e  reunions.  Why?  Because  wild  beasts  do  not  fight 
for  ideas.  They  merely  fight  for  blood. 

All  these  men,  and  all  their  comrades  went  out  inspired 
by  two  immortal  ideas. 

First,  that  liberty  shall  be  universal  in  America. 

And,  second,  that  this  old  flag  is  the  flag  of  a  Nation,, 
and  not  of  a  State;  that  the  Nation  is  supreme  over  all 
people  and  all  corporations. 

Call  it  a  State;  call  it  a  section;  call  it  a  South;  call  it 
a  North:  call  it  anything  you  wish,  and  yet,  armed  with 
the  nationality  that  God  gave  us,  this  is  a  Nation  against 
all  State-so vereiguity  and  secesson  whatever.  It  is  the 


HOME  LIFE.  81 

immortality  of  that  truth  that  makes  these  reunions,  and 
that  makes  this  one.  You  believed  it  on  the  battle-field,, 
you  believed  it  in  the  hell  of'Andersonville,  and  you  believe 
it  to-day,  thank  God;  and  you  will  believe  it  to  the  last 

&wx 

Voices—"  Yes,  we  will."     "That's  so,"  etc. 

Gen.  Garfield — u  Well,  now,  fellow-citizens  and  fellow- 
soldiers — but  1  am  not  worthy  to  be  your  fellow  in  this 
work.  I  thank  you  for  having  asked  me  to  speak  to  you. 
[Cries  of '  Go  on! '  '  Go  on! '  ' Talk,  to  us  some  more,'  etc.) 

I  want  to  soy  simply  that  I  have  had  one  opportunity 
only  to  do  you  any  service.  I  did  hear  a  man  who  stood 
l>y  my  side  in  the  halls  of  the  legislation — the  man  that 
offered  on  the  floor  of  Congress  the  resolution  that  any  man 
who  commanded  colored  troops  should  be  treated  as  a 
pirate,  arid  not  as  a  soldier;  as  a  slave-stealer,  and  not  as 
u  soldier — I  heard  that  man  calmly  say,  with  his  head  up  ' 
in  the  light,  in  the  presence  of  this  American  people,  that 
the  Union  soldiers  were  as  well  treated,  and  as  kindly 
treated  in  all  the  Southern  prisons  as  were  the  rebel 
soldiers  in  all  the  Northern  prisons." 

Voices—"  Liar,"  a  Liar!  "     "  He  was  a  liar." 

Gen.  Garfield — "  I  heard  him  declare  that  no  kinder  men 
ever  lived  than  Gen.  Winder  and  his  Commander-in-Chief, 
Jeff  Davis.  [Yells  of  derision,  hisses,  etc.]  And  I  took 
it  upon  myself  to  overwhelm  him  with  the  proof  [a  roll  of 
applause  begins],  with  the  proof  of  the  tortures  you 
suffered,  the  wrongs  done  to  you,  were  suffered  and  done 
with  the  knowledge  of  the  Confederate  authorities  from 
Jefferson  Davis  down— [great  applause,  waving  of  hats, 
veterans  standing,  in  their  chairs  and  cheering] — that  it 
was  a  part  of  their  policy  to  make  you  idiots  and  skeletons, 
and  to  exchange  your  broken  and  shattered  bodies  and 
dethroned  minds  for  strong,  robust,  well-fed  rebel  prisoners. 
6 


82  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIEFD. 

That  policy,  I  affirm,  has  never  had  it3  parallel  for  atrocity 
in  the  civilized  world." 

y0ice_"  That's  so." 

Gen.  Gai-iield — "  If  was  never  heard  of  in  any  land  since 
the  dark  ages  closed  upon  the  earth.  While  history  lives 
men  have  memories.  Wo  can  forgive  and  forget  all  other 
things  before  wo  can  forgive  and  forget  this. 

Finally,  and  in  conclusion,  I  am  willing,  for  one — and 
I  think  I  speak  frr  thousands  of  others— I  am  willing  to 
see  all  the  bitterness  of  the  late  war  buried  in  the  grave  of 
our  dead.  I  would  be  willing  that  we  should  imitate  the 
condescending,  loviner  kindness  of  him  who  planted  tli£ 
green  grass  on  the  battlefields  aud  let  the  fresh  flowers 
bloom  on  all  the  graves  alike.  I  would  clasp  hands  with 
those  who  fought  against  us,  make  them  my  brethren,  and 
forgive  all  the  past,  only  on  one  supreme  condition:  that 
it  be  admitted  in  practice,  acknowledged  in  theory, 
that  the  cause  for  which  we  fought,  and  you  suffered,  was 
and  is,  and  forevermore'  will  be  right,  eternally  right." 
[Unbounded  enthusiasm.] 

Voices—" That's  it,"  "That's  so,"  etc. 

Gen.  Garfield — "  That  the  cause  for  which  they  fought 
was,  and  forever  will  be,  the  cause  of  treason  and  wrong. 
[Prolonged  applause.]  Until  that  is  acknowledged  my 
hand  shall  never  grasp  any  rebel's  hand  across  any  chasm, 
however  small."  [Great  applause  and  cheers.] 


SPEECHES.  8ft 

Garfield's  Great  Speech  at  Columbus,    Acknowledging  His  Election  as 
United  States  Senator. 

On  the  14th  of  January,  1880,  Gen.  Garfield  arrived  in 
Oolumbus  from  Washington.  He  had  that  day  been  form 
ally  declared  United  States  Senator  from  Ohio,  his  nomina 
tion  by  the  Republican  Legislative  caucus  having  taken 
place  the  week  before.  In  an  informal  reception  which 
took  place  in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  dur 
ing  the  evening,  the  General  made  the  following  admirable 
speech: 

FELLOW  CITIZENS:  I  should  be  a  great  deal  more  than  a 
man,  or  a  great  deal  less  than  a  man,  if  I  were  not  extremely 
gratified  by  this  mark  of  your  kindness  you  have  shown  me 
in  recent  days.  I  did  not  expect  any  such  a  meeting  as 
this.  "I  knew  there  was  a  greeting  awaiting  me,  but  did 
not  expect  so  cordial,  generous,  and  general  a  greeting  with 
out  distinction  of  party,  without  distinction  of  interests, 
as  I  have  received  to-night.  And  you  will  allow  me,  in  a 
moment  or  two,  to  speak  of  the  memories  this  Chamber 
awakens. 

Twenty  years  ago  this  last  week  I  first  entered  this  Cham 
ber  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  public  life,  in  which  I 
have  been  every  hour  since  that  time  in  some  capacity  or 
other.  I  left  this  Chamber  eighteen  years  ago,  and  I  be 
lieve  I  have  never  entered  it  since  that  time.  But  the  place 
is  familiar,  though  it  was  peopled  not  with  the  faces  that  I 
see  before  me  here  to-night  alone,  but  with  the  faces  of 
hundreds  of  people  that  I  knew  here  twenty  years  ago,  a 
large  number  of  whom  are  gone  from  earth. 

It  was  here  in  this  Chamber  that  the  word  was  first 
brought  of  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter.  I  remember  dis 
tinctly  a  gentleman  from  Lancaster,  the  late  Senator 
Schleigh — Gen.  Schleigh,  who  died  not  very  long  ago — I 
remember  distinctlv  as  he  came  down  this  aisle,  with  all  the 


84  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

look  of  agony  and  anxiety  in  his  face,  informing  us  that  the 
guns  had  opened  upon  Sumter.  I  remember  that  one.  week 
that  time,  on  motion  of  a  leading  Democratic  Senator, 
who  occupied  a  seat  not  far  from  that  position  (pointing  to 
the  Democratic  side  of  the  Chamber),  that  we  surrendered 
tMfl  Chamber  to  several  companies  of  soldiers,  who  had 
corne  to  Columbus  to  tender  their  services  to  the  imperiled 
Government.  They  slept  on  its  carpets  and  on  these  sofas, 
and  quartered  for  two  or  three  nights  in  this  Chamber 
while  waiting  for  other  quarters  outside  of  the  Capitol. 

All  the  early  scenes  of  the  War  are  associated  with  this 
place  in  my  mind.  Here  were  the  musterings— here  was 
the  center," the  nerve  center,  of  anxiety  and  agony.  Here 
over  80,000  Ohio  citizens  tendered  their  services  in  the 
course  of  three  weeks  to  the-  imperiled  nation.  Here, 
where  we  had  been  lighting  our  political  battles  with  sharp 
and  severe  partisanship,  there  disappeared,  almost  as  if  by 
magic,  all  party  lines;  arid  from  both  sides  of  the  Chamber 
men  went  out  to  take  their  places  on  the  field  of  battle.  I 
can  see  now,  as  I  look  out  over  the  various  seats,  where 
sat  men  who  afterward  became  distinguished  in  the  service 
in  high  rank^and  nobly  served  their  constituency  and  hon 
ored  themselves. 

We  now  come  to  this  place,  while  so  many  are  gone;  but 
we  meet  here  to-night  with  the  war  so  far  back  in  the  dis 
tance  that  it  is  an  almost  half-forgotten  memory.  We 
meet  here  to-night  with  a  nation  redeemed.  We  meet  here 
to-night  under  the  flag  we  fought  for.  We  meet  with  a 
glorious,  a  great  and  growing  Republic,  made  greater  and 
more  glorious  by  the  sacrifices  through  which  the  country 
has  passed.  And  coming  here  as  I  do  to-night  brings  the 
two  ends  of  twenty  years  together,  with  all  the  visions  of 
the  terrible  and  glorious,  the  touching  and  cheerful,  that 
have  occurred  during  that  time. 


T  came  here  to-night,  fellow-citizen^  to  thank  this  Gen 
eral  Assembly  for  their  great  act  of  confidence  and  compli 
ment  to  me.  I  do  not  undervalue  the  office  that  you  have 
tendered  to  me  yesterday  and  to-day;  but  I  say,  I  think, 
without  any  mental  reservation,  that  the  manner  in  which 
it  was  tendered  to  me  is  far  higher  to  me,  far  more  desira 
ble,  than  the  thing  itself.  That  it  has  been  a  voluntary 
gift  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Ohio,  without  solicitation, 
tendered  to  me  because  of  their  confidence,  is  as  touching 
and  as  high  a  tribute  as  one  man  can  receive  from  his  fel 
low-citizens,  and  in  the  name  of  all  my  friends,  for  myself, 
I  give  you  my  thanks. 

I  recognize  the  importance  of  the  place  to  which  you 
have  elected  me ;  and  I  should  be  base  if  J  did  not  also  re 
cognize  the  great  man  whom  you  have  elected  me  to 
succeed.  I  say  for  him,  Ohio  has  had  few  larger-minded, 
broader-minded  men  in  the  records  of  our  history  than  that 
of  Allen  G.  Thurman.  Differing  widely  from  him,  as  I 
have  done  in  politics,  and  do,  I  recognize  him  as  a  man 
high  in  character  and  great  intellect;  and  I  take  this  occa 
sion  to  refer  to  what  I  have  never  before  referred  to  in 
public:  that  many  years  ago,  in  the  storm  of  party  fighting, 
when  the  air  was  filled  with  all  sorts  of  missies  aimed  at  the 
character  and  reputation  of  public  men,  when  it  was  even  for 
his  party  interest.to'  join  tho  general  clamor  against  me  and 
my  associates.  Senator  Thurman  said  in  public,  in  the  cam 
paign,  on  the  stump — when  men  are  as  likely  to  say  unkind 
thing*  as  at  any  place  in  the  world — a  most  generous  and 
•earnest  word  of  defense  and  kindness  for  me  which  I  shall 
never  forget  so  long  as  I  live.  I  say,  moreover,  that  the 
flowers  that  bloom  over  the  garden  wall  of  party  politics  are 
the  sweetess  and  most  fragant  that  bloom  in  the  gardens  of 
this  world:  and  where  we  can  fairly  pluck  them  and  enjoy 
their  fragrance,  it  is  manly  and  delightful  to  do  so. 

And  now,  gentlemen  of  the  General  Assembly,  without 


86  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  QARFIELD. 

distinction  of  party,  I  recognize  this  tribute  and  compli 
ment  paid  to  me  to-night.  Whatever  my  own  course  may 
be  in  the  future,  a  large  share  of  the  inspiration  of  my 
future  public  life  will  be  drawn  from  this  occasion  and 
these  surroundings,  and  I  shall  feel  anew  the  sense  of  ob 
ligation  that  I  feel  to  the  State  ot  Ohio.  Let  me  venture 
to  point  a  single  sentence  in  regard  to  that  work.  During 
the  twenty  years  that  I  have  been  in  public  life,  almost 
eighteen  of  it  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  I  have 
tried  to  do  one  thing.  Whether  I  was  mistaken  or  other 
wise,  it  has  been  the  plan  of  my  life  to  follow  my  conviction 
at  whatever  personal  cost  to  myself. 

I  have  represented  for  many  years  a  district  in  Congress; 
whose  approbation  I  greatly  desired;  but  though  it  may 
seem,  perhaps,  a  little  egotistical  to  say  it,  I  yet  desired 
still  more  the  approbation  of  one  person,  and  his  name  was 
Garfield.  He  is  the  only  man  that  I  am  compelled  to  sleep 
with,  and  eat  with,  and  live  with,  and  die  with;  arid  if  I 
could  not  have  "his  approbation  I  should  have  bad  compan 
ionship.  And  in  this  larger  constituency  which  has  called 
me  to  represent  them  now,  I  can  only  do  what  is  true  to 
my  best  self,  applying  the  same  rule. 

And  if  I  should  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  lose  the  confi 
dence  of  this  larger  constituency,  I  must  do  what  every 
other  fair-minded  man  has  to  do — carry  Jiis  political  life  in 
his  hand  and  would  take  the  consequences.  But  I  must 
follow  what  seems  to  me  to  be  the  only  safe  rule  of  my  life;, 
and  with  that  view  of  the  cose,  and  with  that  much  personal 
reference,  I  leave  that  subject. 

Thanking  you  again,  fellow-citizens,  members  of  the 
General  Assembly,  Republicans  as  well  as  Democrats — all, 
party  men  as  I  am — thanking  you  both  for  what  you  have 
done  and  for  this  cordial  and  manly  greeting,  I  bid  you 
good-night. 


SPEECHES.  87 

Gen.  Garfleld  on  the  Floor  of  the  Great  Chicago  Convention    Full  Text   of 
His  Eloquent  Speech  Nominating  John   Sherman  For  President- 
Delivered  June  5,  1880. 

It  was  after  full  fifteen  minutes  of  applause  for  a  pro 
ceeding  candidate,  in  an  assembly  of  15,000  souls,  that  Gen. 
Garfield  arose  and  calmly  addressed  the  Convention  at 
Chicago  as  follows: 

"  Mr.  President :  I  have  witnessed  the  extraordinary 
scenes  of  this  Convention  with  deep  solicitude.  No  emo 
tion  touches  my  heart  more  quickly  than  a  sentiment  in 
honor  of  a  great  and  noble  character.  But  as  I  sat  on  these 
seats  and  witnessed  these  demonstrations,  it  seemed  to  me 
you  were  a  human  ocean  in  a  tempest.  I  have  seen  the  sea 
lashed  into  fury  and  tossed  into  a  spray,  and  its  grandeur 
moves  the  soul  of  the  dullest  man.  But  I  remember  that 
it  is  not  the  billows,  but  the  calm  level  of  the  sea  from 
which  all  heights  and  depths  are  measured.  "When  the 
storm  has  passed  and  the  hour  of  calm  settles  on  the  ocean, 
when  sunshine  bathes  its  smooth  surface,  then  the 
astronomer  and  surveyer  takes  the  level  from  which  he 
measures  all  terrestrial  heights  and  depths.  Gentlemen 
of  the  Convention,  your  present  temper  may  not  mark  the 
healthful  pulse  of  the  people. 

"  When  our  enthusiasm  has  passed,  when  the  emotions  of 
this  hour  have  subsided,  we  shall  find  the  calm  level  of 
public  opinion,  below  the  storm,  from  which  the  thoughts 
of  a  mighty  people  are  to  be  measured,  and  by  which  their 
final  action  will  be  determined.  Not  here,  in  this  brilliant 
circle,  where  15,000  men  and  women  are  assembled,  is  the 
destiny  of  the  Republic  to  be  decreed;  not  here,  where  I 
see  the  enthusiastic  faces  of  756  delegates  waiting  to  cast 
their  votes  into  the  urn  and  determine  the  choice  of  their 
party;  but  by  5,000,000  Republican  firesides,  where  the 
thoughtful  fathers,  with  wives  and  children  about  them, 


v  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

with  the  calm  thoughts  inspired  by  love  of  home  and  lovr> 
of  country,  with  the  history  of  the  past,  the  hopes  of  the 
future,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  great  men  who  have 
adorned  and  blessed  our  Nation  in  days  gone  by, — there 
God  prepares  the  verdict  that  shall  determine  the  wisdom 
of  our  work  to-night.  Not  in  Chicago,  in  the  heat  of  June, 
but  in  the  sober  quiet  that  comes  between  now  and 
November,  in  the  silence  of  deliberate  judgment,  will  thia 
great  question  be  settled.  Let  us  aid  them  to-night. 

"But  now,  gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  what  do  we 
want?  Bear  with  me  a  moment.  Hear  me  for  this  cause, 
and,  for  a  moment,  be  silent  that  you  may  hear.  Twenty- 
five  years  ago  this  Republic  was  wearing  a  triple  chain  of 
bondage.  Long  familiarity  with  the  traffic  in  the  body 
and  souls  of  men  had  paralyzed  the  consciences  of  a 
majority  of  our  people.  The  baleful  doctrine  of  State 
sovereignty  had  shocked  and  weakened  the  noblest  and 
most  beneficent  powers  of  the  National  Government,  and 
the  grasping  power  of  slavery  was  seizing  the  virgin  Terri 
tories  of  the  West  and  dragging  them  into  the  den  of 
eternal  bondage.  At  that  crisis  the  Republican  party  was 
born.  It  drew  its  first  inspiration  from  the  fire  of  liberty 
which  God  has  lighted  in  every  man's  heart,  and  which  all 
the  powers  of  ignorance  and  tyranny  can  never  wholly 
extinguish.  The  Republican  party  came  to  M\™r  ?vtrl 
save  the  Republic.  It  entered  the  arena  when  the 
beleaguered  and  assailed  Territories  were  struggling  for 
freedom,  and  drew  around  them  the  sacred  circle  of  liberty, 
which  the  demon  of  slavery  has  never  dared  to  cross.  It 
made  them  free  forever. 

"Strengthened  by  its  victory  on  the  frontier,  the  young 
party,  under  the  leadership  of  that  great  man,  who,  on  thU 
spot,  twenty  years  ago,  was  made  its  leader,  entered  the 
National  Capital  and  assumed  the  high  duties  of  the,  Gov- 


SPEECHES.  89 

eminent.  The  light  which  shone  from  its  banner  dispelled 
the  darkness  in  which  slavery  had  enshrouded  the  Capitol 
and  melted  the  shackles  of  every  slave,  and  consumed,  in 
the  fire  ot  liberty,  every  slave-pen  within  the  shadow  of  the 
Capitol.  Our  National  industries,  by  an  impoverishing 
policy,  were  themselves  prostrated,  and  the  streams  ot 
revenue  flowed  in  such  feeble  currents  that  the  Treasury 
itself  was  well  nigh  empty.  The  money  of  the  people  was 
the  wretched  notes  of  2,000  uncontrolled  and  irresponsible 
State  bank  corporations,  which  were  filling  the  country  with 
a  circulation  that  poisoned  rather  than  sustained  the  life  of 
business. 

"  The  Republican  party  changed  all  this.  It  abolished 
the  babel  of  confusion  and  gave  the  country  a  currency  as 
national  as  its  flag,  based  upon  the  sacred  faith  of  the 
people.  It  threw  its  protecting  arm  around  our  great 
industries,  and  they  stood  erect  as  with  new  life.  It  filled 
with  the  spirit  of  true  nationality  all  the  great  functions 
of  the  Government.  It  confronted  a  rebellion  of  unex 
ampled  magnitude,  with  a  slavery  behind  it,  and,  under 
God,  fought  the  final  battle  of  liberty  until  victory  was 
won.  Then,  after  the  storms  of  battle,  were  heard  the 
sweet,  calm  words  of  peace  uttered  by  the  conquering 
Nation,  and  saying  to  the  conquered  foe  that  lay  prostrate 
at  its  feet  :  'This  is  our  only  revenge,  that  you  join  us  in 
lifting  to  the  serene  firmament  of  the  Constitution,  to  shine 
like  stars  forever  and  forever,  the  immortal  principles  of 
truth  and  justice,  that  all  men,  white  or  black,  shall  be  free 
and  stand  equal  before  the  law.'  Then  came  the  questions 
of  reconstruction,  the  public  debt,  and  the  public  faith. 

"  In  the  settlement  of  these  questions  the  Repub 
lican  party  has  completed  its  twenty -five  years  of 
glorious  existence,  and  it  has  sent  us  here  to  prepare  it  for 
another  lustrum  of  duty  and  of  victory.  How  shall  we 


•0  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

do  this  great  work?  We  cannot  do  it,  my  friends,  by  assail 
ing  our  Republican  brethren.  God  forbid  that  I  should  say 
one  word  to  cast  a  shadow  upon  any  name  on  the  roll  of 
our  heroes.  This  coming  fight  is  our  Thermopylae.  We 
are  standing  upon  a  narrow  isthmus.  If  our  Spartan  hosts 
are  united  we  can  withstand  all  the  Persians  that  the  Xerxes, 
of  Democracy  can  bring  against  us. 

Let  us  hold  our  ground  this  one  year,  for  the  stars  in 
their  courses  fight  for  us  in  the  future.  The  census  to  be 
taken  this  year  will  bring  reinforcements  and  continued 
power.  But  in  order  to  win  this  victory  now,  we  want  the 
vote  ot  every  Republican,  of  every  Grant  Republican  in 
America,  of  every  Elaine  man  and  every  anti-Elaine  man. 
The  vote  of  every  follower  of  every  candidate  is  needed  to 
make  our  success  certain;  therefore,  I  say  gentlemen  and 
brethren,  we  are  here  to  calmly  counsel  together,  and  inquire 
what  we  shall  do.  A  voice:  'Nominate  Garfield.'  [Gieat 
applause.] 

44  We  want  a  man  whose  life  and  opinions  embody  all  the 
achievements  of  which  I  have  spoken.  We  want  a  man 
who,  standing  on  a  mountain  height,  sees  all  the  achieve 
ments  of  our  past  history,  and  carries  in  his  heart  the  mem 
ory  of  all  its  glorious  deeds,  and  who,  looking  forward,  pre 
pares  to  meet  the  labor  and  the  dangers  to  come.  We  want 
one  who  will  act  in  no  spirit  of  unkindness  toward  those  we 
lately  met  in  battle.  The  Republican  party  offers  to  our 
brethren  of  the  South  the  olive  branch  of  peace,  and  wishes, 
them  to  return  to  brotherhood,  on  this  supreme  condition 
that  it  shall  be  admitted,  forever  and  forever  more,  that,  in 
the  war  for  the  Union,  we  were  right  and  they  were  wrong. 
[Cheers.]  On  that  supreme  condition  we  meet  them  as 
brethren,  and  no  other.  We  ask  them  to  share  with  us  the 
blessings  and  honors  of  this  great  Republic. 

44  Now,  gentlemen,  not  to  weary  you,  I  am  about  to  pre- 


SPEECHES.  91 

sent  a  name  for  your  consideration — the  name  of  a  man  who 
was  the  comrade,  and  associate,  and  friend  of  nearly  all 
those  noble  dead  whose  faces  look  down  upon  us  from  these 
walls  to-night  [cheers] ;  a  man  who  began  his  career  of  pub 
lic  service  twenty -five  years  ago,  whose  first  duty  was  cour 
ageously  done  in  the  days  of  peril  on  the  plains  of  Kansas, 
when  the  first  red  drops  of  that  bloody  shower  began  to  fall 
which  finally  swelled  into  the  deluge  of  war.  He  bravely 
stood  by  young  Kansas  then,  and,  returning  to  his  duty  in 
the  National  Legislature,  through  all  subsequent  time  his 
pathway  has  been  marked  by  labors  performed  in  every  de 
partment  of  legislation. 

You  ask  for  his  monuments.  I  point  you  to  twenty -five 
years  of  the  national  statutes.  Not  one  great  beneficent 
statute  has  been  placed  on  our  statute  books  with 
out  his  intelligent  and  powerful  aid.  He  aided 
these  men  to  formulate  the  laws  that  raised  our 
great  armies  and  carried  us  through  the  war.  His  hand 
was  seen  in  the  workmanship  of  those  statutes  that  restored 
and  brought  back  the  unity  and  married  calm  of  -the 
States.  His  hand  was  in  all  that  great  legislation  that 
created  the  war  currency,  and  in  a  greater  work  that 
redeemed  the  promises  of  the  government,  and  made  the 
currency  equal  to  gold.  And  when,  at  last  called  from  the 
halls  of  legislation  into  a  high  executive  office,  he  displayed 
that  experience,  intelligence,  firmness,  and  poise  of 
character  which  has  carried  us  through  a  stormy  period  of 
three  years.  With  one-half  the  public  press  crying 
4 Crucify  him!' and  a  hostile  Congress  seeking  to  prevent 
success — in  all  this  he  remained  unmoved  until  victory 
crowned  him. 

The  great  fiscal  affairs  of  the  notion  and  the  great 
business  interests  of  the  country  he  has  guarded  and  pre 
served,  while  executing  the  law  of  resumption,  and 


«i  M'OKfES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARPIELD. 

effecting  its  object,  without  a  jar,  and  against  the  false 
!>:•.>! 'limes  of  one-half  of  the  press  and  all  the  Democracy 
of  this  Continent.  lie  has  shown  himself  able  to  meet 
with  calmness  the  great  emergencies  of  the  government  for 
twenty  five  years.  He  has  trodden  the  perilous  bights  of 
public  duty,  and  against  all  the  shafts  of  malice  has  borne 
his  breast  unharmed.  He  has  stood  in  the  blaze  of  "  that 
fierce  light  that  beats  against  the  throne,"  but  its  fiercest 
ray  has  found  no  Haw  in  his  armor,  no  stain  on  his  shield. 
I  do  not  present  him  as  a  better  Republican,  or  as  a 
better  man  than  thousands  of  qthers  we  honor,  but  I  pre 
sent  him  for  your  deliberate  consideration.  I  nominate 
John  Sherman,  of  Ohio. 


THE  NOMINATION. 

Comparative  Statement  of  Ballots. 

The  number  of  ballots  cast  at  Chicago  is  by  no  means 
unprecedented.  In  1852  General  Scott  was  nominated  on 
the  fifty-third,  and  General  Pierce  on  the  forty-ninth  ballot. 
The  ill-omened  Charleston  Convention  in  1800  cast  fifty- 
seven  ineffectual  ballots,  and  went  to  pieces  without  nomi 
nating  anybody.  JSro  Republican  Convention,  however, 
has  ever  cast  ss  many  ballots  as  were  recorded  at  Chicago. 
Freemont  was  nominated  on  the  first  ballot,  Lincoln  on  the 
third  for  his  first  term  and  on  the  first  for  his  second  term, 


"Exposition  Building,  In  which  was  held  the  National  Republican  Convention  of  1830.] 

Grant  on  the  first  for  each  term,  Greeley  on  the  sixth,  and 
Hayes  on  the  seventh.  The  first  National  Convention  ever 
held  in  the  United  States  nominated  Henry  Clay  in  1831. 
William  Wirt,  Mr.  Van  Bnren,  General  Harrison  and  Mr. 
Clay  were  subsequently  nominated  on  the  first  ballot.  Mr. 
Polk  required  nine.  General  Cass  four,  Jamr.s  Buchanan 
seventeen,  and  Horatio  Seymour  twenty-two  ballots. 

At  the  Chicago  Convention  Gen.  Garfield  received  399 
votes  on  the  thirty-sixth  ballot.  Up  to  the  thirty-fourth, 
his  highest  number  was  two.  The  following  tables  show 
the  essential  points  connected  with  Garfield's  nomination: 

it 


94  STORIES  AND  SKE1CHES  OF  QARFIELD. 

THE  BREAK  TO  GARFIELD — THIRTY-FOURTH  BALLOT. 


STATES  AND  TERRI 

TORIES. 

<j 

f 

9 

i 
• 

3 

d 
• 

Edmunds. 

Windom. 

Washburne. 

j 

Alabama  
Arkansas  .  .  . 

1C 
•to 

4 

California  

]•> 

Colorado 

Connecticut  

3 

Q 

Delaware 

"Florida  

c 

Georgia 

Illinois  

94 

10 

Indiana  

2 

20 

n 

Iowa  

2? 

Kansas 

4 

Kentucky     

on 

I 

• 

/ 

g 

4 

4" 

Maine.  .    . 

14 

Maryland  

7 

2 

7 

.Massachusetts  

4 

91 

-i 

Michigan  

1 

21 

Minnesota 

G" 

4 

Mississippi  

« 

4 

q 

A  ifcsoiiri 

oq 

[Nebraska  .  . 

« 

. 

Nevada  

(j 

New  Hampshire  
New  Jersey  

10 
]4 

New  York  

50 

18 

9 

North  Carolina 

« 

Ohio     

9 

04 

i 

Oio(ron 

(5 

Pennsylvania    .  . 

35 

2° 

1 

Rhode  Island  

*•} 

"•ouih  Carolina 

1 

Tennessee  

17 

4 

Texas 

1Q 

1 

Vermont  

10 

Virginia  

16 

3 

q 

West  Virginia 

1 

Q 

i 

Wisconsin  

9 

I 

1A 

a 

Dakota  

J 

| 

District  of  Columbia. 
Idaho    

1 

1 

2' 

Montana  

2 

New  Mexico  

2 

riah  

] 

i 

Washington  

2 

Wvorning 

J 

i 

Total  

312 

275 

107 

11 

4 

29 

18 

THE  NOMINATION 
THIRTY-FIFTH  BALLOT. 


STATES  AND  TER 
RITORIES. 

Grant. 

Elaine. 

Sherman. 

Edmunds. 

Windom. 

Washburne. 

Garfleld. 

i 

.Alabama      

16 
12 

6 

8 
8 
24 
1 

4 
20 
8 

7 
4 
1 
1 

8 
29 

50 
6 

36 

11 
17 
13 

16 
1 
2 

1 
1 

1 
1 

4 
12 

3 
6 

9 
10 
2 
22 
6 
1 
4 
14 
3 

21 

6 
4 

6 
6 
10 
14 

18 

9 
6 
20 
8 
1 
4 
1 

3 
8. 
2 
2 
1 
1 
2 
2 
2 
1 
2 
1 

5 

3 
4 

2 

21 

3 

2 
2 
13 
34 

2 
3 
1 

3 
1 

1 
10 

3 

9 

8 

1 
1 
2 

1 
1 

27 

4 

1 

1 
1  . 

16 

•   •' 

\rkansas            •  • 

California         

Colorado  

Connecticut  
Delaware   

Florida 

Oeorgia  

.Illinois     

Indiana  

Kansas  

Kentucky           •   •  •  « 

IjOuisiana    

\f.l  JT-lp 

Maryland  

Massachusetts  

Michigan  

^Minnesota         •  •   •  • 

Mississippi  

Nebraska 

New  Hampshire  
New  Jersey      -     ... 

New  York  

North  Carolina  

OlliO                                             

Pennsylvania  

Rhode  Island  

South  Carolina 

Tennessee  
Texas      

Vermont  

Virginia         

AVest  Virginia 

Wisconsin  
A  riyonji 

U'ikota            

District  of  Columbia 
Idaho   

]\.[on,tana  

New  Nexico        • 

Utah  

"YVvoTninff 

Totals  

313 

257 

99 

11 

8 

23 

50 

96  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  Of  GARF1ELD. 

TFTIRTY-SIXTIT  AND  LAST  BALLOT— GARFIELD  NOMINATED. 


STATES  AND  TERRITORIES. 

No.  of  votes. 

o 

Blaine. 

Sherman. 

Wasliburne. 

S 

"Z 

9 

Alabama    

20 

16 

4 

\rkansas 

12 

12 

California  

12 

1° 

Colorado 

o 

(5 

(Connecticut  

12 

i 

1  [ 

Delaware 

(j 

*i 

V  loridn  

g 

g 

3 

Georgia 

2° 

0 

10 

i 

Illinois    .       

42 

'24. 

7 

Indiana  

30 

] 

29 

Jo\v;i      ... 

2° 

9^ 

Kansas  

10 

4 

A 

Kentucky  

24 

•>o 

1 

3 

J..ouisianii        

1(5 

g 

0 

Maine  

]4 

Maryland 

1(5 

A 

If). 

Massachusetts  

26 

4 

00 

M  iohigan    

22 

j 

91 

Minnesota 

10 

0 

Mississippi  
Missouri 

16 
BO 

7 
*/><) 

9 
i 

Nebraska  

(j 

A 

Nevada  

Q 

•> 

1 

Q 

.New  Hampshire 

10 

-1  A 

Now  Jersey  

18 

18 

New  York 

70 

r.(\ 

Of  I, 

North  Carolina 

20 

r 

1  - 

Ohio*  

43 

4O 

Oregon  . 

y 

Pennsylvania  

58 

07 

.)  I 

Khode  Island  

a 

0 

South  Carolina 

l> 

Tennessee  

24 

1  ^ 

1 

o 

Texas.  ..*  

16 

1Q 

q 

Vermont  

10 

1  f> 

Virginia  

22 

10 

o 

West  Virginia  

10 

J 

\\  isconsin  

20 

•>rv 

Arizona  

2 

I  );  i  \\  ota.  

2 

District  of  Columbia. 

2 

eL 

Idaho  

2 

M  nitana  

2 

N  »'\v  Mexica  

2 

Utah  

2 

Washington  

2 

Wyoming  

2 

Totals  

755 

300 

42 

3 

5 

399 

*Cen.  Garfield  not  votimr. 

THE  NOMINATION. 


97 


SIMMARY. 


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300 

284 

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308 

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309 

281 

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300 

283 

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30 

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17  

303 

9  84 

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18  

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32 

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308 

270 

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21  
22  

305 

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270 
275 

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97 

35 

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10 
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23  
24  
25  
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304 
305 
302 
303 

275 
270 
281 
280 

97 
93 
94 

93 

30 
35 
35 

30 

31 
31 
31 
31 

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10 
10 
10 

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2 
2 
2 

27'  

300 

277 

93 

3tf 

31 

10 

2 

28  

307 

979 

91 

31 

10 

2 

29 

'30} 

978 

110 

19 

7 

30  

300 

979 

19Q 

33 

11 

4 

2 

31  

308 

270 

118 

37 

11 

8 

1 

32 

309 

970 

117 

44 

11 

3 

1 

33     . 

309 

270 

110 

44 

11 

4 

1 

34  

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275 

107 

30 

11 

4 

17 

35  

313 

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99 

23 

11 

3 

50 

36  

300 

42 

3 

5 

' 

399 

98 


STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 


Enthusiasm  on  Fire-Making  the  Nomination  of  Gen.  Garfield  Unanimous 
at  the  Chicago  Kepublican  Convention-Speeches  of  Messrs.  Conk- 
ling,  Logan,  Beaver,  Hale,  Pleasants,  and  Harrison. 

Immediately  after  Gen.  Garfield  had  received  the  399 
Votes  of  the  Chicago  Convention,  it  was  the  desire  of  the 
body  to  make  his  nomination  unanimous.  This  was 
effected  amid  the  greatest  enthusiasm,  and  called  forth  the 
following  brief  and  eloquent  speeches: 

SENATOR  CONKLING,  OF    NEW    YORK. 

MR.  CHAIRMAN— James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio,  having  re 
ceived  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast,  I  rise  to  move  that 
he  be  unanimously  presented  as  the  nominee  of  this  Con 
vention.  The  Chair,  under  the  rules,  anticipates  my  mo 
tion,  and  being  on  my  feet,  I  avail  myself  of  the  opportun 
ity  to  congratulate  the  Republican  party  upon  the  good- 
natured  and  the  well-tempered  rivalry  which  has  distin 
guished  this  animated  contest.  Well,  gentlemen,  I  would 
speak  louder,  but  having  sat  under  the  cool  wind  of  these 
windows,  I  feel  myself  unable  to.  I  was  in  the  act  to  say, 
Mr.  Chairman,  that  I  trust  that  the  zeal,  the  fervor,  and 
now  the  unanimity  seen  in  the  Convention  will  be  trans 
planted  to  the  field  of  the  conflict,  and  that  all  of  us  who 
have  borne  a  part  against  each  other  will  find  ourselves 
with  equal  zeal  bearing  the  banner,  and  with  equal  zeal  car- 
rying  the  lance  of  the  Republican  party  into  the  ranks  of 
the  enemy. 

SENATOR    LOGAN,  OF    ILLINOIS. 

MR.  CHAIRMAN  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CONVENTION— We 
are  to  be  congratulated  that  we  have  arrived  at  a  conclu 
sion  in  reference  to  presenting  the  name  of  a  candidate  to 
become  the  standard-bearer  of  the  Republican  party  for 
President  of  the  United  States.  In  union  and  harmony 
there  is  strength.  Whatever  may  have  transpired  in  this 
Convention  that  may  have  momentarily  marred  the  feel- 


THE  NOMINATION.  ,,0 

ings  of  any  one  here,  I  hope  that  in  our  conclusion  it  will 
pass  from  our  minds.  I,  sir,  with  the  friends  of,  I  think, 
one  of  the  grandest  men  that  ever  graced  the  face  of  the 
earth  [applause]  stood  ever  here  to  light  a  friendly  battle  in 
favor  of  his  nomination.  But,  sir,  the  Convention  has 
chosen  another  leader.  The  men  who  stood  by  Grant's 
banners  will  be  seen  in  the  front  of  this  contest  on  every 
field.  We  will  go  forward,  sir,  not  with  tied  hands,  not 
with  sealed  lips,  not  with  bridled  tongues,  but  to  speak  tfce 
truth  in  favor  of  the  grandest  party  that  has  ever  been  or 
ganized  in  this  country,  to  maintain  its  principles,  main 
tain  its  power,  and  to  preserve  its  ascendancy.  And  sir, 
with  the  leader  you  have  selected,  my  judgment  is  victory 
will  perch  upon  our  banners.  I,  sir,  as  one  of  the  repre 
sentatives  from  the  State  of  Illinois,  second  the  nomination 
of  James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio,  and  I  hope  it  may  be  made 
unanimous. 

GEN.  BEAVER,  OF    PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  State  of  Pennsylvania  having  had  the  honor  of  first 
naming  in  this  Convention  the  gentleman  who  has  been 
nominated  as  the  standard-bearer  of  the  Kepublican  party 
in  the  approaching  national  contest,  I  rise,  sir,  to  second 
the  motion  which  has  been  made  to  make  that  nomination 
unanimous,  and  to  assure  this  Convention  and  the  people 
of  this  country  that  Pennsylvania  is  heartily  in  accord  with 
this  nomination;  that  she  gives  her  full  concurrence  to  it, 
and  that  this  country  may  expect  from  her  the  best  major 
ity  that  has  been  given  for  a  Presidential  candidate  in 
many  years. 

MR.     HALE,     OF     MAINE. 

MR.  PRESIDENT:  In  returning  heartfelt  thanks  to  the 
men  in  this  convention  who  have  aided  us  in  the  fight  that 
we  have  made  for  the  Senator  from  Maine,  and  speaking, 
as  I  know  that  I  do,  for  them  here,  I  say  this  most  heartily: 


100          STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  QARFIELD. 

We  have  not  gotten  the  man  th*at  we  came  to  nominate, 
but  we  have  got  a  man  in  whom  we  have  the  greatest  and 
most  perfect  confidence.  [Cheers.]  The  nominee  of  this 
convention  is  no  new  or  untried  man,  and  in  that  respect 
no  dark  horse.  When  lie  came  here  representing  his  State 
in  the  front  of  that  delegation,  and  was  seen  here,  every 
man  knew  him  before  that,  and  because  of  our  faith  in 
him,  and  hecause  we  were  in  that  emergency  glad  to  help 
make  him  the  candidate  of  the  Republicans  for  President 
of  the  United  States,  because  of  these  things  I  stand  here 
to  pledge  the  Elaine  forces  of  this  convention  to  earnest 
effort  from  now  until  the  ides  of  November,  that  shall 
make  Jas.  A.  Garfield  the  next  President  of  the  United 
States. 

MR.    W.    H.    PLEAS  ANTS,    OF   VIRGINIA. 

MR.  CHAIRMAN:  As  New  York,  Illinois,  and  Maine, 
along  with  Pennsylvania,  have  spoken,  I  stand  here 
probably  occupying  a  peculiar  (but  most  rightly  so)  posi 
tion  to  that  of  the  majority  ot  the  people  of  this  conven 
tion.  I  came  here,  sir,  from  Virginia,  instructed  by  the 
State  Convention  to  vote  for  that  peculiar  and  most  dis 
tinguished  man,  the  most  renowned  in  the  world,  Ulysses 
S.  Grant,  and  I  have  proved  it  sincere  here;  I  have  been 
standing  upon  this  floor,  and  upon  all  occasions  casting 
my  vote  to  the  last  for  that  man.  But,  sir,  as  the  con 
vention  has  thought  best  to  nominate  James  A.  Garfield, 
of  Ohio,  for  President  of  the  Unithd  States,  it  may  not  be- 
that  we  can  promise  you  Virginia,  but  we  can  promise  you 
this,  as  humble  men,  and  as  men  who  have  on  all  occasions 
shown  their  devotion  to  the  Republican  principles  of  the 
country;  men  who,  as  Virginia  Republicans,  on  one 
occasion,  gave  the  electoral  vote  of  Virginia  to  Ulysses  S. 
Grant;  and  avhile  a  division  exists  in  the  Republican  party 
of  that  State,  we  hope  in  November  next  to  return  your 


THE  DOMINATION.  ,  iOjL 

nominee.  Although  it  was  said  that  we  had  all  to  receive 
and  nothing  to  give,  we  now  receive  James  A.  Gartield, 
and  will  endeavor  to  give  him  Virginia.  I,  for  one — and 
I  speak  for  this  Delegation,  and  for  every  Republican  in 
the  State — second  the  nomination  of  James  A.  Garfield, 
and  the  motion  to  make  the  vote  unanimous. 

BEN    HARRISON,    OF    INDIANA. 

I  am  not  in  very  good  voice  to  address  the  convention. 
Indiana  has  been  a  little  noisy  within  the  last  hour,  and, 
though  the  Chairman  of  this  delegation,  I  forgot  myself 
so  much  as  to  abuse  my  voice.  I  should  not  have  detained 
the  convention  to  add  any  word  to  what  has  been  said  in  a 
spirit  of  such  commendable  harmony  over  this  nomination, 
if  it  had  not  been  for  the  over  partiality  of  my  friends 
from  Kentucky,  with  whom  we  have  had  a  good  deal  of 
pleasant  intercourse.  They  insist,  sirs,  as  I  am  the  only 
defeated  candidate  for  the  Presidency  on  the  floor  of  this 
convention,  having  received  one  vote  from  some  misguided 
friend  from  Pennsylvania,  who,  unfortunately  for  me, 
didn't  have  staying  qualities,  and  dropped  out  on  the  next 
ballot.  I  want  to  say  to  the  Ohio  delegation  that  they 
may  carry  to  their  distinguished  citizen  who  has  received 
the  nomination  at  the  hands  of  this  convention  my 
encouraging  support.  I  bear  him  no  malice  at  all.  But, 
Mr.  Chairman,  I  will  defer  my  speeches  until  the  cam 
paign  is  hot,  and  then,  on  every  stump  in  Indiana,  and 
•wherever  else  my  voice  can  help  on  this  great  Republican 
cause  to  victory  I  hope  to  be  found. 


102 :          STURfES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

Gen.  Oarfleld  En  Koute  for  Home  After  His  Nomination  for  Presiaent- 
From  Illinois  to  Ohio-Incidents  and  Welcomes  by  the  Way. 

The  first  emotions  of  surprise  being  past,  General  Gar- 
field  bore  the  fresh  penalties  of  greatness  with  equanimity 
and  apparently  with  some  sense  of  enjoyment.  From  the- 
moment  his  nomination  became  assured,  he  was  made  the 
recipient  of  such  exuberant  and  spontaneous  honors  as  loyal 
crowds  in  this  republic  delight  to  bestow  upon  their  favor 
ites.  The  music  of  brass  bands  announced  his  first  appear 
ance  in  the  office  of  the  hotel  in  Chicago,  as  he  came  from 
his  room,  clad  for  his  journey  to  his  Ohio  home.  A  band 
and  hundreds  of  people  accomanied  him  to  the  depot,  where 
a  great  crowd  had  gathered  to  wish  him  God-speed  to  his 
home,  and  hence  through  the  campaign  to  the  White- 
House.  When  he  arrived  at  the  «lepot,  there  was  great 
d leering  and  waving  of  hats. 

General  Garfield  came  to  Cleveland  in  a  special  car,  ac 
companied  by  a  number  of  intimate  personal  friends,, 
among  whom  were  Gov.  Charles  Foster,  of  Ohio;  S.  T. 
Everett,  President  of  the  Second  National  Bank  of  Cleve 
land;  Gen.  James  Barnett,  an  old  military  friend  of  Gen. 
Garfield,  he  having  been  Chief  of  Artillery  in  the  armies  of 
Eosecrans  and  Thomas;  Col.  D  G.  Swaim, Judge  Advocate 
of  the  United  States  Army,  formerly  Adjutant  of  the  42d 
Ohio  Volunteers  (Garfield's  regiment);  Lieutenant-Colonel 
L.  A.. Sheldon,  Mayor  W.  II.  Williams,  and  Capt.  Charles- 
E.  Henry,  all  of  whom  were  also  officers  of  Garfield's  regi 
ment;  I.  F.  Mack,  of  the  Ohio  Register,  Sandusky;  1ST.  .B. 
Sherwin,  J.  W.  Tyler,  and  Major  Eggleston,  of  Cleveland, 
were  also  with  Gen.  Garfield. 

Once  out  of  the  din  of  Chicago,  Gen.  Garfield  and  his- 
friends  lighted  their  cigars  and  passed  the  hours  in  conning 
over  the  stirring  events  of  the  past  week  reading  congratu 
latory  dispatches,  and  in  a  casual  way  discussing  the  politi- 


THE  NOMINATION.  103 

cal  outlook.  Gen.  Garfield  gave  brief  expression  to  his 
gratification  at  the  touching  incidents  of  the  last  twenty- 
four  hours  which  had  brought  out  so  many  evidences  of  the 
universal  appreciation  in  which  his  public  services  are  held, 
and  mentioned  feelingly  the  handsome  compliment  paid 
him  by  the  House  of  Representatives  in  Washington. 
Gov.  Foster  alluded  jokingly  to  the  popular  impression 
that  he  may  be  Gen.  Garh'eld's  successor  in  Senatorial  hon 
ors,  saying  that  he  was  already  filling  Garh'eld's  shoes,  hav 
ing  had  his  own  stolen  at  the  hotel  in  Chicago,  and  been 
compelled  to  accept  the  loan  of  a  pair  of  these  needful  arti 
cles  from  the  General. 

At  Laporte,  Ind.,  the  first  stopping  place  of  any  conse 
quence,  many  hundreds  of  people,  with  a  brass  band,  had 
collected  to  salute  Gen.  Garfield  as  he  passed.  Gov.  Foster 
made  a  brief  speech  introducing  Gen.  Garfield,  when  there 
were  deafening  cheers  from  the  multitude.  Col.  Sheldon 
followed,  briefly  telling  the  story  of  Chicago.  At  South 
Bend  the  scene  was  repeated,  but  with  a  larger  crowd,  and 
of  course  louder  cheering.  All  along  the  route,  at  the 
hamlets  through  which  the  train  passed  without  stopping, 
and  even  at  farm  houses,  people  gathered  and  gazed  and 
cheered  in  one  continued  outburst. 

INDIANA'S  WELCOME.' 

At  Elkhart,  Ind..  where  the  train  made  a  stop  -for  din 
ner,  a  brass  band  led  the  way  along  the  railroad  platform 
to. the  dining  room,  and  after  dinner  it  headed  the  column 
on  its  return  to  the  cars.  At  Goshen  hundreds  ot  people 
were  waiting  with  a  gun  mounted  on  a  log,  the  first  dis 
charge  from  which  dismounted  the  piece;  but  the  crowd 
made  up  in  enthusiasm  for  this  mishap. 

At  Ligonier  the  ceremonial  ot  introduction  was  some 
what  varied,  Gen.  Garfield  getting  ahead  and  introducing 
Gov.  Charlie  Foster  to  the  crowd  of  an  unnamed  water  sta- 


104  8TORIJS8  AND  SKETCHES  OF  QARFTEFD. 

tioii,  where  a  dozen  men  and  boys — apparently  the  whole 
male  population  —  had  gathered.  Several  of  the  "latter 
climbed  aboard  the  car,  inquiring  for  the  coming  man. 
Gen.  Garfield  was  pointed  out,  and  bowed. 

"Hallo!  "  shouted  the  delighted  spokesman  of  the  assem 
blage,  as  the  train  moved  away,  "  We'll  support  you." 

At  Kendallville  the  ladies  of  the  village  were  largely  rep 
resented  in  the  greeting  crowd,  several  of  them  bearing 
bouquets  for  presentation  to  the  man  they  had  assembled 
to  honor.  At  Waterloo  and  Butler,  the  last  two  stopping 
places  in  Indiana,  the  scenes  enacted  at  the  stations  previ 
ously  passed  were  repeated.  All  along  the  lines  crowds  had 
been  growing  larger  proportionately  to  the  size  of  the 
towns,  and  the  salutations  were  enthusiastic. 

IN    OHIO. 

Crossing  the  line  into  Ohio,  at  Edgerton  the  greetings, 
of  course,  suffered  no  diminution  in  point  of  numbers  or 
enthusiasm,  but  fewer  opportunities  were  oifered  for  giving 
expression  to  the  public  feeling  than  in  Indiana.  Every 
where  the  people,  it  was  reported,  were  wild  with  enthusi 
asm. 

At  Bryan  an  affecting  incident  occurred.  Mr.  William 
Letcher,  an  old  gentleman,  a  cousin  of  Gen.  Gariield,  be 
tween  whom  and  himself  exist  ties  of  tender  friendship, 
came  on  the  car,  prepared  with  a  brief  little  speech  of  con 
gratulation.  He  was  so  overcome  with  emotion,  however, 
that  he  conld  only  ejaculate,  "  Cousin  James,"  and  burst 
into  tears.  A  friend  recalled  the  fact  that  Mr.  Letcher  had 
held  Gen.  Garfield  when  a  baby  in  his  arms  at  the  funeral 
of  his  father. 

CONGRATULATIONS. 

The  following  are  a  few  of  the  hundreds  of  congratula 
tory  telegrams  received  by  Gen.  Garfield  during  the  day: 
Prof.  Simom  Newcomhe,  the  astronomer  at  Washington, 


THE  NOMINATION.  105 

44  Thousand  congratulations  on  the  success  of  the  office  in 
finding  the  man." 

J.  B.  Dinsmore,  Captain  of  "  The  Garfield  Guards,  Sut- 
ton,  Nebraska:"  "Gen.  Garfield's  Guards  were  organized 
to-night,  with  forty-eight  members.  Great  enthusiasm; 
torchlight  procession  and  ratification  meeting." 

William  R.  Johnson  and  600  others,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.: 
"  The  students  of  the  University  of  Michigan  send  congrat 
ulations." 

A.  S.  Stratton,  Mayor  of  Madison,  Lake  county  (Gen. 
Gariield's  own  county),  Ohio:  "Madison  sends  greetings; 
immense  enthusiasm;  cannon,  bonfires,  speeches,  and 
cheers." 

Frederick  W.  Pitkin,  Chairman,  and  K.  G.  Cooper,  Sec 
retary,  Denver,  Col. :  "  At  an  enthusiastic  ratification  meet 
ing  of  the  Republicans  of  Denver,  held  this  evening,  the 
following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted: 

"  Resolved,  By  the  Republicans  of  Denver  in  mass  meet 
ing  assembled,  that  we  heartily  endorse  the  nomination  of 
James  A.  Garfield  and  Chester  A.  Arthur,  and  we  pledge 
the  State  of  Colorado  for  the  Chicago  nominations  with 
5,000  majority." 

Thomas  H.  Wilson,  member  of  the  General  Assembly, 
Youngstown,  Ohio:  "Youngstown  ablaze.  Your  friends 
have  been  hoping  for  just  such  a  result,  although  appreci 
ating  the  delicacy  of  your  situation.  The  party  has  hon 
ored  and  saved  itself." 

Eli  H.  Murray,  an  6ld  friend  of  Gen.  Garfield's,  now 
Governor  of  Utah:  "Telegrams  assure  me  that  I  was 
in  naming  you  President.     God  bless  you." 


1<X5  STOK1ES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  UARF1ELD. 

Garfield's  Informal   Acceptance  of  the  Nomination— His   Sense   of  the  Re 
sponsibility. 

Near  midnight,  in  Chicago,  June  9th,  1880,  the  Com 
mittee  appointed  by  Senator  Hoar  to  wait  on  Generals 
Garfield  and  Arthur  and  notify  them  of  their  nomination, 
found  them  in  the  club  room  of  the  Grand  Pacific  Hotel, 
and  Senator  Hoar,  as  Chairman,  made  an  appropriate 
speech. 

Gen.  Garfield  replied : 

MR.  CHAIRMAN  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  1  assure  you  that  the 
information  you  have  officially  given  to  me  brings  the  sense 
of  very  grave  responsibility,  and  especially  so  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  I  was  a  member  of  your  body,  a  fact  that  could 
not  have  existed  with  propriety  had  I  had  the  slightest 
expectation  that  my  name  would  be  connected  with  the 
nomination  for  the  office.  I  have  felt  with  you  great 
solicitude  concerning  the  situation  of  our  party  during  the 
struggle;  but,  believing  that  you  are  correct  in  assuring 
me  that  substantial  unity  has  been  reached  in  the  con 
clusion,  it  gives  me  a  gratification  far  greater  than  any 
personal  pleasure  your  announcement  can  bring. 

I  accept  the  trust  committed  to  my  hands.  As  to  the 
work  of  our  party,  and  as  to  the  character  of  the  campaign 
to  be  entered  upon,  I  will  take  an  early  occasion  to  reply 
more  fully  than  I  can  properly  do  to-night. 

I  thank  you  for  the  assurances  of  confidence  and  esteem 
you  have  presented  to  me,  and  hope  we  shall  see  our  future 
as  promising  as  are  indications  to-night. 

Senator  Hoar,  in  the  same  mariner,  presented  the 
momination  to  General  Arthur,  who  accepted  it  in  a  brief 
and  informal  way. 


THE  NOMINATION.  107 

How  the  News  of  Garfield's  Nomination   was  Received  at  Hiram    College 
-Ringing  the  Old  BelL 

When  the  news  was  received  at  Hiram  College,  where 
Garfield  had  been  a  school  boy,  Professor  and  President, 
the  College  bell,  which  Garfield  used  to  ring  for  his  tuition, 
was  wildly  rung,  and  the  people  came  running  from  every 
part  of  the  little  town  built  around  the  College  Square,  to 
gather  under  the  old  bell  to  clasp  hands  and  shout  their  joy. 

Everybody  who  went  to  school  with  Garfield:  every 
pupil  who  remembers  him  as  a  rigid  disciplinarian^  but  as 
the  first  and  strongest  on  the  ball  ground,  where  he  spent 
many  hours  with  his  scholars;  every  soldier  who  went  to 
the  war  in  the  old  Forty-Second,  and  all  the  people  of  this 
little  town,  who  have  lived  here  in  the  same  houses  thirty 
years,  when  as  a  youth  he  came  among  them,  all  and  each 
loved  Garfield;  and  as  there  were  many  representatives  of 
each  class,  we  can  imagine  the  character  of  the  occasion. 


First  Vote  for  Garfield  in  the  Chicago  Conrention-The  Man  Who  Gave  it 

Voted  for  Zaohary  Taylor  and  Abraham  Lincoln  Under  Like 

Circumstances. 

A  prominent  gentleman  who,  in  speaking  of  the  incidents 
of  the  Chicago  Convention,  which  nominated  Gen.  Gar- 
field,  said  that  the  Pennsylvanian  who  cast  the  first  and 
only  vote  which  Gen.  Garfield  received  for  several  ballots 
was  Caleb  N.  Taylor,  a  delegate  from  the  Bucks  District. 

This  gentleman  says  that  while  in  Chicago  he  met  Mr. 
Taylor,  who  was  well  known  to  him,  he  having  been  a  Rep 
resentative  in  Congress  for  several  terms,  and  a  person  who, 
though  a  Quaker,  always  took  a  great  interest  in  public 
affairs,  but  was  exceedingly  deaf. 

Mr.  Taylor  accosted  this  gentleman  in  one  of  the  corri- 


108          STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

dors  of  the  Palmer  House  and  remarked  that  he  expected 
to  cast  the  first  vote  for  the  man  who  would  be  nominated, 
He  declined  to  mention  his  name,  but  added  that  if  lie 
watched  his  vote  he  would  discover  who  this  gentleman 
was. 

Mr.  Taylor  then  mentioned  several  instances  in  his  ex 
perience.  He  stated  that,  in  1848,  his  constituents  sent 
him  to  Harrisburg  with  instructions  to  vote  as  they  had 
directed,  but  against  this  verdict  he  had  cast  his  vote  for 
Zachary  Taylor,  and  for  some  time  his  was  the  only  vote 
he  received,  and  Taylor  was  subsequently  nominated.  In 
1860  he  was  again  sent  to  the  National  Convention  at 
Chicago,  with  instructions  how  he  should  vote. 

He  again  disregarded  these  instructions  and  cast  his  first 
vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln,  who  was  nominated.  Mr. 
Taylor,  in  the  late  Chicago  Convention,  as  already  stated, 
cast  his  first  vote  for  Garfield,  who  was  also  nominated. 


What  Prominent  Foreign-Born  Citizens  Say  of  the  Convention-They  Declare 
it  Positively  American. 

The  following  opinions  of  intelligent  foreign -born 
citizens,  respecting  the  Republican  Convention  at  Cnicago, 
which  nominated  Gen.  Garfield  for  President,  are  exceed 
ingly  interesting,  and  to  the  point: 

OPINION    OF    EX-LIEUT.-GOV.    MULLER. 

Whoever  has  studied  the  history  of  the  ancients,  and  by 
its  aid  and  lights  has  formed  an  idea  of  the  imposing  mag 
nificence  of  the  peoples'  mass-meetings  as  they  were  held 
in  the  classic  times  of  Greece  and  the  Roman  Empire  for 
the  purpose  of  listening  to  lectures,  political  and  other 
matter-of -State  discussions,  witnessing  public  plays  or 
gladiatorial  contests,  can  find  in  the  picture  developed  be- 


THE  NOMINATION.  100 

fore  my  eyes  in  this  Republican  National  Convention  an 
approachi  ng  counterpart. 

Ten  thousand  stalwart  men  filled  the  immense  and 
splendidly-decorated  hall;  all  seats,  row  upon  row,  and 
closely  joined,  were  occupied,  so  that  hardly  a  bullet  could 
drop  to  the  floor.  All  the  different  delegations  from  the 
thirty  eight  States,  the  eight  Territories,  and  the  District 
of  Columbia,  had  their  space  and  seats  allotted  to  them, 
and  the  galleries  were  filled  with  the  most  prominent  and 
talented  men  of  the  country. 

The  impression  which  this  convention  oi  sovereign 
citizens  of  a  free  land  made  upon  the  quiet  observers  was 
grand  and  imposing  beyond  all  description.  No  showy 
and  gold -embroidered  uniforms,  no  diamond-stars  and 
decorations  of  any  order,  or  other  such  like  tinsel,  as  are 
graciously  bestowed  by  monarchs  and  princes  upon  their 
devoted  subjects,  attracted  my  attention,  but  civic  and 
democratic  simplicity  in  the  outward  appearance  of  all 
those  present  greeted  my  eyes!  Reserve,  self-reliance,  and 
intelligence  were  beaming  on  the  faces  of  all  who  composed 
this  vast  assembly,  and  the  thought  that  these  men  could 
ever  give  up  all  their  country's  traditions  and  its  free  in 
stitutions  as  not  worthy  of  preservation,  disappeared  at  once 
from  my  mind. 

At  all  events,  my  observations  during  the  session  of  this 
Convention  so  far  have  quieted  all  my  apprehensions  that 
among  the  people  of  this  country  sympathies  for  a  so-called 
strong  or  monarchical  government  could  ever  take  root. 

I  am  convinced  now  that  everything  which  has  mani 
fested  itself  in  this  direction  so  far  emanates  only  from 
those  classes  of  our  population  commonly  designated  as 
"  Shoddyites,"  who  are  represented  in  real  life  by  blase 
aristocratic  swellheads. 


110  8TORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  QARFIELD. 

OPINION    OF    HERMAN    RASTER. 

The  conduct  of  the  delegates  and  spectators  in  the  Con 
vention  was,  in  one  word,  American;  with  that  everything 
is  said.  No  personal  altercations,  no  twitting,  no  insinua 
tions;  everywhere  good  cheer,  pleasantness,  and  a  disposi 
tion  to  oblige  predominated.  But  then  came  the  outbursts 
of  real  or  artificial  enthusiasm,  poured  forth  with  such  tre 
mendous  elementary  strength,  that  would  place  the  demo 
niac  yells  of  the  Comanche  Indians  and  the  howlings  of  the 
Zulu-Caffirs  by  far  in  the  shade!  Whoever  did  not  witness 
the  proceedings  of  the  Convention  on  the  fourth  day  of  its 
session  cannot  even  have  an  approaching  conception  of  the 
noise  and  wild  enthusiasm  which  prevailed  during  that  day 
from  early  morn  until  late  at  night. 

A  stranger,  unaware  of  the  proceedings  in  the  hall, 
might  have  been  induced  to  believe  that  pandemonium  had 
broken  loose,  or  that  all  the  lunatic  asylums  in  the  country 
had  emptied  their  contents  into  the  Exposition  Building. 

Among  the  delegates,  although  determined  in  their  oppo 
sition  and  in  the  promotion  of  their  choice's  interests, 
nothing  but  pleasantness  and  affability  was  perceptible. 
During  the  whole  time  of  the  six  days'  proceedings  not  a 
word  was  uttered  which  could  be  tortured  into  a  direct  in 
sult,  and  not  a  single  serious  dispute  took  place  among 
them  as  well  as  among  all  this  vast  concourse  of  excited 
and  enthusiastic  men.  In  this  respect  the  conduct  of  the 
Americans  in  their  mass -meetings  and  gatherings  cannot 
be  enough  praised  and  extolled, — more  particularly  so  when 
we  consider  the  behavior  of  the  French,  the  Germans, 
Italians,  and  Poles  on  similar  occasions. 

Any  Convention  of  the  importance  and  magnitude  of 
that  which  has  just  adjourned  in  Chicago,  held  in  France, 
would  undoubtedly  have  caused  hundreds  of  personal  con 
flicts  and  duels.  Such  a  sudden  readiness  and  submissive- 


THE  NOMINATION.  11? 

ness  to  accept  an  unexpected  result  as  a  finality  as  is 
exhibited  by  Americans  after  their  Conventions  we  look  for 
in  vain  among  all  other  civilized  nations. 


A  Garfield  Nomination  Joke. 

An  hour  or  so  after  the  latest  and  last  from  the  Chicago 
nomination,  a  policeman  on  Randolph  street  halted  at 
the  door  of  a  saloon  and  asked  the  proprietor  how  he  liked 
the  nomination. 

"  I  doan'  care  for  bolitics  any  more,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Why,  what's  the  matter  ?  You  were  greatly  excited 
yesterday." 

"  If  I  vhas  den  I  vhas  a  fool.  Yhen  dot  first  pallet  vhas 
daken  I  set  up  der  peer  for  de  Grant  crowd,  for  I  likes  to 
shtand  vhell  mit  der  poys." 

«  Yes." 

"  Den  a  pig  crowdt  rushes  in  here  und  yells  out  dot  Jim 
Plaine  vhas  de  coming  man,  und  I  hand  out  der  cigars,  for 
mein  poy  vhants  a  blace  in  der  Gustom-house  oof  Jiin 
Plaine  vhas  Bresident." 

"  Yes,  I  see." 

"  Yhell,  pooty  soon  comes  mein  brudder  in  und  says  I 
vhas  a  fool,  for  dot  feller  Sherman  would  git  all  der  votes 
pooty  queek.  I  tinks  off  Sherman  gits  it  mein  poy  haf  a 
blace  in  der  Post-office  sure,  und  I  calls  in  der  poys  und 
dells  'em  to  trink  to  my  gandidate." 

"  Just  so." 

"  I  feels  goot  vhen  I  goes  to  bedt,  but  early  in  der  morn 
ings  some  Aldermans  come  roundt  here  und  says:  <  Shake, 
tont  pe  a  fool.  Edmunds  ish  der  man  who  vhill  knock  'em 
all  to  pieces,'  und  I  dells  efery  pody  I  vhas  an  Edmundts, 
und  I  pet  ten  dollars  he  vhas  voted  in.  Dis  forenoon  mein 


J12  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIEL1). 

poy  vhas  for  Grant,  mein  br udder  vhas  for  Sherman  und 
I  vhas  for  Elaine,  und  vhere  pe  dose  five  kegs  of  lager  dot 
I  hadt  dis  morning?  Vhen  I  goes  home  mein  vhrow  she 
eaidt  I  vhas  zwei  fools,  und  I  locks  up  der  saloon  und  goes 
to  bedt." 

"  Well,  have  you  heard  who  was  nominated? " 

"Nein." 

"  It  was  Garfield." 

"Garfeel?  Py  Sheorge!  I  dreats  avay  seven  kegs  of 
lager  und  two  poxes  of  cigars,  und  it  vhas  Garieel !  Wheel, 
dot  ends  me  oop.  If  I  efer  haf  some  more  to  do  mit  boli- 
ticks,  den  I  am  as  grazy  as  bedtbugs.  Garfeel!  Yhell — 
vhell.  Vhat  a  fool  I  vhas  dot  I  save  not  mein  peer  und 
in&ke  a  zure  blace  for  mein  poy  mit  Garfeel!" 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


Who  Is  General  Garfield! 

• 

The  first  and  superficial  answer  is,  that  he  is  the 
Republican  leader  in  the  popular  branch  of  Congress, 
where  he  has  served  conspicuously  for  seventeen  years,  and 
that  he  is  Senater  elect  from  the  State  of  Ohio — two- 
eminent  stations,  which,  together  with  the  Presidential 
nomination,  distinguish  him  by  an  unexampled  combination 
of  civic  honors.  Reaching  behind  this  Congressional 

o  ~ 

experience,  he  was  an  enthusiastic  volunteer  in  the  Union 
Army.  Before  his  military  service  he  was  for  one  brief 
term  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  Ohio.  This  carries  him 
back  to  the  beginning  of  his  public  career,  to  a  time  when 
28  years  of  age  he  was  a  school-teacher  in  a  little  village 
on  the  Western  reserve,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  hamlet 
where  he  was  born. 

lie  came  of  a  family  of  yeomen.  When  he  was  left  an 
orphan  in  the  cradle  by  his  father's  death  his  mother 
struggled  with  poverty  to  educate  him  for  loftier  pursuits 
than  those  of  his  ancestors,  and  the  boy  bravely  seconded 
her  efforts.  The  slow  and  scanty  savings  of  labor  as  a 
canal  boatman  and  a  carpenter  provided  him  means  for  a 
liberal  eJ  ication,  and  at  the  mature  age  of  25  he  was 
graduated  from  a  New  England  college  in  1856,  the  same 

113  8 


114  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

year  in  which  the  Republican  party  set  its  first  Presidential 

ticket  in  the  field. 

This  is  an  honorable  record— as  characteristic  as 
Abraham  Lincoln's  of  the  aspirations  and  opportunities  of 
life  in  our  republic;  but  its  recital  does  not  touch  the  core 
of  our  question.  The  mere  outline  of  a  man's  experience 
is  not  a  satisfactory  reply  to  an  inquiry  what  manner  of 
man  that  experience  has  left  him.  Answering  the  question 
in  this  deeper  sense,  Gen.  Garfield  is  a  typical  repre 
sentative  of  the  civilization  of  New  England  removed  into 
the  West,  where  it  has  grown  greater  and  ranker  than  , 
it  flourishes  at  home,  as  a  New  England  wild  flower  might 
if  transplanted  from  its  rocky  pasture  into  the  rich  soil  of 
the  prairie. 

When  Sir  Charles  Dilke  wrote  a  book  upon  America 
a  few  years  ago  he  styled  it  the  "  Greater  Britain."  In  the 
same  spirit  that  broad  reach  of  the  Northwestern  territory, 
which  begins  at  the  Valley  of  the  Gennesee,  and,  after 
crossing  the  Western  Reserve,  spreads  out  into  an  area 
encompassing  the  great  lakes,  might  well  be -styled  the 
"Greater  New  England."  The  leaven  of  its  first  settlers 
pervades  it,  tempered,  but  not  dissipated,  by  space  and 
time,  and  from  these  settlers  Gen.  Garfield  descended, 
bearing  among  his  own  names  a  Biblical  patronymic, 
which,  like  Lincoln's,  betokens  his  Puritan  descent  from 
a  New  England  ancestry. 

Applying  this  key  to  his  public  career,  the  American 
people  can  fairly  interpret  its  past,  and  conjecture  its 
future.  It  explains  the  alliance  of  his  fortunes  with  the 
Republican  party;  the  ardor  with  which  he  has  assisted  in 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  in  the  distinctive  political 
measures  which  resulted  from  that  event;  the  courage  with 
which  he  always  has  antagonized  the  "Ohio  idea"  of 
financial  legislation;  the  hesitation  with  which  he  has 


MISCELLANEOUS.  115 

opposed  his  own  liberal  convictions  concerning  economic 
questions  to  the  predominant  opinions  of  his  political  associ 
ates;  and  the  scholarly  tastes  which  have  impelled  him  to 
serve  upon  Congressional  committees  on  education  and  the 
•census,  and  as  a  regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute  with 
no  less  zeal  than  he  has  applied  himself  to  the  business  of 
the  committees  on  Military  Affairs,  Banking,  and  the  Cur 
rency  and  Appropriations,  of  all  of  which  he  has  been 
successively  Chairman.  It  defines  also  the  respectable 
simplicity  of  his  private  life. 


Dying  Words  of  Gen.  Garfield's  Father -He  Leaves  His  Four  Children  in  Care 

of  His  Wife. 

Gen.*Garfield's  mother,  a  woman  of  wonderful  intelli 
gence  and  highly  endowed  by  nature,  was  wedded  to  a  man 
of  the  most  generous  impulses  and  largeness  of  soul,  and 
together  they  sought  their  fortunes  in  the  woods  of  Orange, 
Ouyahoga  County,  O. 

To  this  couple  were  born  four  children,  James  Abram 
being  the  last.  When  the  youngest  son  was  only  two 
years  old,  his  father,  over-worked  and  weary  from  the  labor 
of  saving  his  wheat  crop  from  a  fire  which  threatened  its 
destruction,  sat  in  a  draft  of  wind,  and  contracted  a  violent 
•sore  throat.  A  quack  doctor  of  the  time  applied  a  blister, 
which  caused  him  to  choke  to  death.  Vigorous  and  hearty 
in  all  his  frame,  in  his  dying  moments  he  said  to  his 
beloved  wife  : 

"  I  have  planted  four  saplings  in  these  woods.  I  must 
now  leave  them  to  your  care." 

Then,  taking  a  last  look  out  upon  his  farm,  and  calling 
his  oxen  by  name,  he  died. 


110  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

Garfielu's  Life  in  Hiram  Sketched  by  President  Hinsdale,  of  Hiram  College 
—An  Interesting  History. 

"Garfield's  life  in  Hiram,"  says  President  Hinsdale, 
'•may  be  divided  into  four  parts:  First,  student  period; 
second,  student  and  teacher;  third,  teacher,  and,  fourth,, 
citizen  period.  I  was  not  in  Hiram  when  Garfield  came 
here,  but  he  came  in  1851.  His  name  first  appears  in  the 
catalogue  of  that  year,  *  James  A.  Garfield,  Cuyahoga 
county.'  It  appears  the  same  way  next  year,  but  never  ap 
pears  again  as  the  name  of  a  student.  In  the  catalogue  of 
1853  it  appears  in  the  list  of  instructors  as  'Teacher  in  the 
English  Department  and  Ancient  Languages.'  He  began 
to  teach  when  he  had  been  here  about  a  year,  and  continued 
to  teach,  at  the  same  time  carrying  on  his  own  studies,  until 
he  went  to  "Williams  College  in  1854.  Previous  to  'going 
to  Williams  his  name  appears  only  once  as  instructor. 

The  student  period,  then,  may  be  said  to  have  lasted  one 
year,  and  student  and  teacher  period  two  years.  He  en 
tered  the  junior  class  at  Williams  College  in  1854,  and 
graduated  in  1856,  dividing  the  highest  honors  with  one  of 
his  classmates.  He  returned  to  Hiram  in  the  fall  of  1856, 
where  he  had  just  been  elected  a  teacher  of  ancient  lang 
uages  and  literature.  He  occupied  this  position  one  year, 
until,  on  retirement  of  Mr.  A.  S.  Hayden,  he  became  the 
head  of  the  institution.  The  school  was  then  called  the 
Western  Reserve  Eclectic  Institute,  and  did  not  become 
Hiram  College  until  1865,  so  that  Garfield  was  never  Pres 
ident  of  Hiram  College,  as  has  been  stated,  but  was  Princi 
pal  of  the  Institute,  in  active  duty,  from  June,  1857,  to  Sep 
tember,  1861.  When  he  became  the  head  of  the  institu- 
tution  he  was  26  years  old. 

The  teacher  period  of  his  life  then  covers  four  years.  lie 
entered  the  army  in  August,  1861,  taking  bodily  his  classes 
in  history,  Latin,  etc.,  with  him  into  the  field.  At  this 


MISCELLANEOUS.  Ill 

time  his  active  connection  with  the  institution  ceased;  but 
so  reluctant  was  the  Board  of  Trustees  to  part  with  his 
name  that  he  continued  nominally  a  Principal  until  1864. 
In  the  catalogue  of  the  two  following  years  his  name  ap 
pears  as  '  Advising  Principal,'  and  first  as  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  in  1865. 

"  In  the  fall  of  1862,  at  31  years  of  age,  he  was  elected  to 
Congress,  but  continued  in  the  army  until  he  took  his  seat 
in  December  of  the  year  following.  "While  in  the  army, 
he  bought  this  house,  which  I  now  own,  which  is  the  only 
piece  of  property  Garfield  ever  owned  in  Hiram.  His 
home  continued  to  be  here  until  he  moved  to  Mentor  in 
1877,  so  that  the  citizen  period  of  his  life  may  be  said  to 
reach  from  1863  to  1877. 

"  I  came  to  Hiram  at  the  opening  of  the  winter  term 
of  1853-4.  I  arrived  in  the  evening,  and  saw  nobody  until 
next  day.  That  day  I  went  with  father  to  Mr.  Hayden, 
then  Principal,  and  in  the  parlor  of  the  house  I  first  saw 
Garfield. 

"  In  stature  he  was  what  he  is  now,  only  not  so  well 
rounded  up.  His  head  was  covered  with  an  immense 
shock  of  tow-colored  hair,  which  has  since  darkened.  He 
was  but  22  years  old,  and  had  a  decidedly  veally  appear 
ance.  George  Pow,  of  Mahoning  County  came  in,  and  tlu» 
conversation  turned  upon  a  recent  contest  of  Pow  with  B 
U.Watkins  on  the  rightfulness  of  Christians  going  to  war, 
Pow  had  affirmed  this  rightfulness  under  certain  circum 
stances,  and,  as  I  came  in,  young  Garfield  saki:  'So, 
Brother  Pow,  you  took  the  gunpowder  side,  did  you?' 
These  are  the  first  words  I  remember  to  have  ever  heard 
Garfield  speak. 

"  That  winter  I  was  a  member  of  one  of  Garfield's  classes 
—a  class  in  arithmetic  of  105  members,  which  he  handled 
with  admirable  power.  The  impression  which  he  made 


118  STOUIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

upon  me  then  is  the  same  which  he  made  upon  everybody 
then  and  after.  I  cannot  describe  him  better  than  to  read 
a  passage  from  my  history  of  the  Delphic  Society.  Gar- 
Held,  I  should  say,  was  then  a  member  of  the  Philomathian 
Society,  and  delivered  before  it  that  winter  a  course  of 
lectures  on  history.  But  here  is  the  passage  : 

"'An  old  Hiram  student,  in  a  private  letter,  speaks  of  the 
Philomathians  as  '  wonderful  men/  mentions  those  he  thought 
'master  spirits,'  and  adds:  'Then  began  to  grow  up  in  me  an 
admiration  and  love  for  Garfield  that  has  never  abated,  and  the 
like  of  which  I  have  never  known.  A  bow  of  recognition  or  a 
single  word  from  him  was  to  me  an  inspiration.  The  exact 
parallel  or  my  own  experiences,  Garfield,  you  have  taught  me  more 
than  any  other  man,  living  or  dead ;  and  when  I  recall  these  early 
days,  when  I  remember  that  James  and  I  were  not  the  last  of  the 
boys,  proud  as  I  am  of  your  record  as  a  soldier  and  a  statesman,  I 
can  hardly  forgive  you  for  abandoning  the  academy  for  the  field 
and  the  forum.' 

"  When  I  read  the  above  passage,"  continued  -Hinsdale, 
laying  the  book  down,  "  before  a  brilliant  audience  in  the 
chapel  four  years  ago,  the  cheers  with  which  it  was  received 
showed  that  it  struck  a  chord  in  all  hearts. 

•'  My  real  acquaintance  with  Garfield  did  not  begin  until 
the  fall  of  1856,  when  he  returned  from  Williams  College. 
He  then  found  me  out,  drew  near  to  me,  and  entered  into 
all  my  troubles  and  difficulties  pertaining  to  questions  of 
the  future.  In  a  greater  or  less  degree  this  was  true  of  his 
relations  to  his  pupils  generally.  There  are  hundreds  of 
these  men  and  women  scattered  over  the  world  to-day  who 
cannot 'find  language  strong  enough  to  express  their  feeling 
in  contemplating  Garfield  as  their  old  instructor,  adviser 
and  friend.  Since  1856  my  relations  with  him  have  been 
as  close  and  confidential  as  they  could  be  with  any  man, 
and  much  closer  and  more  confidential  than  they  have  been 
with  any  other  man.  I  think  that  it  would  be  impossible 
for  me  to  knqw  anybody  better  than  I  know  him,  and  I 


MISCELLANEOUS.  119 

know  that  he  possesses  all  the  great  elements  of  character 
in  an  extraordinary  degree. 

"  His  interest  in  humanity  has  always  been  as  broad  as 
humanity  itself,  while  his  lively  interest  in  young  men  and 
women,  especially  if  they  were  struggling  in  narrow  cir 
cumstances  to  obtain  an  education,  is  a  characteristic 
known  as  widely  over  the  world  as  the  footsteps  of  Hiram 
boy  a  and  girls  have  wandered. 

"The  help  that  he  furnished  hundreds  in  the  way  of 
suggestions,  teaching,  encouragement,  inspiration,  and 
stimulus,  was  most  valuable.  I  have  repeatedly  said  that, 
as  regards  myself,  I  am  more  indebted  to  him  for  all  that  I 
am  and  for  what  I  have  done  in  the  intellectual  field  than 
to  any  other  man  that  ever  lived. 

"  His  power  over  students  was  not  so  much  that  of  a 
drill-master  or  disciplinarian  as  that  of  one  who  ^  uo  able 
to  inspire  and  energize  young  people  by  his  own  intellectual 
and  moral  force." 


An  Interesting  Reminiscence   of  Garfield's  Youth— A  Letter  He  Wrote  2$ 
Years  ago  that  Helped  to  Make  a  College  President,  and  that 
President  Now  Eeads  it  to  His  Students. 

President  Hinsdale  said,  at  the  recent  Commencement  at 
Hiram  College  (June,  1880),  that  in  the  fall  of  1856  he  left 
the  Eclectic  Institute,  now  Hiram  College,  in  distress  of 
mind  growing  out  of  his  own  life-questions.  He  had 
passed  his  19th  birthday,  and  the  question  of  the  future 
weighed  heavily  upon  his  mind.  That  winter  he  taught 
district-school.  He  had  already  won  a  friend  in  Mr.  Gar- 
field,  then  25  years  old,  and  just  out  of  Williams  College, 
Garfield  was  then  teaching  in  Hiram  as  Professor  of  Ancient 
Languages.  In  his  distress  of  mind  Hinsdale  wrote  Gar- 
field  a  letter,  in  which  he  fully  opened  up  his  mind.  In 


120  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

reply  he  received  a  letter,  which  gave  him  great  help,  that 
illustrated  some  of  the  points'  in  the  morning's  lecture. 
This  letter,  which  he  had  religiously  preserved,  might  give 
help  to  some  of  the  young  men  before  him.  Besides,  there 
was  peculiar  propriety  in  his  reading  it,  on  account  of  what 
had  taken  place  the  day  before  in  the  City  of  Chicago.  He 
then  proceeded  to  read  from  the  original — yellow  with  age, 
and  worn  with  repeated  foldings  and  unfoldings — the  fol 
lowing  beautiful  letter: 

"  HIRAM,  Jan.  15,  1857. — MY  DEAR  BROTHER  BURKE:  I 
was  made  glad  a  lew  days  since  by  the  receipt  of  your 
letter.  It  was  a  very  acceptable  New  Year's  present,  arid  I 
take  great  pleasure  in  responding.  You  have  given  a  vivid 
picture  of  a  community  in  which  intelligence  and  morality 
have  been  neglected,  and  I  am  glad  you  are  disseminating 
the  light.  Certainly  men  must  have  some  knowledge  in 
order  to  do  right.  God  first  said,  '  Let  there  be  light;' 
afterward  he  said,  'It  is  very  good! ' 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  of  your  success  in  teaching,  but  I 
approach  with  much  more  interest  the  consideration  ot  the 
question  you  have  proposed.  Brother  mine,  it  is  not  a 
•question  to  be  discussed  in  the  spirit  of  debate,  but  to  be 
thought  over  and  prayed  over  as  a  question  i  out  of  which 
are  the  issues  of  life.5  You  will  agree  with  me  that  every 
cr_?  mvpt  dcT.d0  and  direct  his  own  course  in  life,  and  the 
only  service  friends  can  afford  is  to  give  us  the  data  from 
which  we  must  draw  our  own  conclusion  and  decide  our 
course.  Allow  me,  then,  to  sit  beside  you  and  look  over 
the  field  of  life  and  see  what  are  its  aspects. 

"  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  advise  everyone  to  under 
take  the  work  of  a  liberal  education.  Indeed,  I  believe 
that  in  two-thirds  of  the  cases  such  advice  would  be  unwise. 
The  great  body  of  the  people  will  be,  and  ought  to  be 
(intelligent),  farmers  and  mechanics;  and  in  many  respects 


MISCELLANEOUS.  121 

they  pass  the  most  independent  and  happy  lives.  But  God 
has  endowed  some  of  His  children  with  desires  and  capa 
bilities  for  a  more  extended  field  of  labor  and  influence, 
and  so  every  life 'should  be  shaped  according  to  'what  the 
man  hath.'  Now,  in  reference  to  yourself,  I  know  you  have 
capabilities  for  occupying  positions  of  high  and  important 
trust  in  the  scenes  of  active  life,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  not 
call  it  flattery  in  me  nor  egotism  in  yourself  to  say  so. 
TelJ  me,  Burke,  do  you  not  feel  a  spirit  stirring  within 
you  that  longs  to  know,  to  do,  and  to  dare ;  to  hold  con 
verse  with  the  great  world  of  thought,  and  hold  before  you 
some  high  and  noble  object  to  which  the  vigor  of  your 
mind  and  the  strength  of  your  arm  may  be  given?  Do  you 
not  have  longings  like  these,  which  you  breathe  to  no  one, 
and  which  you  feel  must  be  heeded,  or  you  will  pass 
through  life  unsatisfied  and  regretful?  I  am  sure  you  have 
them,  and  they  will  forever  cling  round  your  heart  till  you 
obey  their  mandate.  They  are  the  voices  of  that  nature, 
which  God  has  given  you,  and  which,  when  obeyed,  will 
bless  you  and  your  fellow-men. 

"Now,  all  this  might  be  true,  and  yet  it  might  be  your 
duty  not  to  follow  that  course.  If  your  duty  to  your  father 
or  your  mother  demands  that  you  take  another,  I  shall 
rejoice  to  see  you  take  that  other  course.  The  path  of  duty 
is  where  we  all  ought  to  walk,  be  that  where  it  may.  But 
I  sincerely  hope  that  you  will  not,  without  an  earnest 
struggle,  give  up  a  course  of  liberal  study.  Suppose  you 
could  not  begin  your  study  again  till  after  your  majority, — 
it  will  not  be  too  late  then,  but  you  will  gain  in  many 
respects.  You  will  have  more  maturity  of  mind  to  appre 
ciate  whatever  you  may  study.  You  may  say  you  will  be 
too  old  to  begin  the  cource.  But  how  could  you  better 
spend  the  earlier  days  of  life?  We  should  not  measure  life 
by  the  days  and  moments  we  pass  on  earth. 


122  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELJ). 

" '  The  life  is  measured  by  the  soul's  advance — 
The  enlargement  of  its  powers— the  expanded  field 
Where  it  ranges,  till  it  burns  and  glows 
With  heavenly  joy,  with  high  and  heavenly  hope.' 

"  It  need  be  no  discouragement  that  you  will  be  obliged 
to  hew  your  own  way  and  pay  your  own  charges.  You 
can  go  to  school  two  terms  of  every  year,  and  pay  your  own 
way. 

"  I  know  this,  for  I  did  so  when  teachers'  wages  were 
much  lower  than  they  are  now.  It  is  a  great  truth  that 
'  Where  there  is  a  will,  there  is  a  way.'  It  may  be  that  by- 
and-by  your  lather  would  assist  you.  It  may  be  that  even 
now  he  could  let  you  commence  on  your  resources,  so  that 
you  could  begin  immediately.  Of  this  you  know,  and  I 
do  not.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  glad  I  should  be  to  assist 
you  in  your  work;  but,  if  you  cannot  come  to  Hiram  while 
I  am  here,  I  shall  still  hope  to  hear  that  you  are  deter 
mined  to  go  on  as  soon  as  the  time  will  permit.  Will  you 
not  write  me  your  thoughts  on.  this  whole  subject,  and  tell 
me  your  prospects?  We  are  having  a  very  good  time  in 
the  school  this  winter.  Give  my  love  to  Roldon  and 
Louisa,  and  believe  me  always  your  friend  and  brother. 

"  J.  A.  GARFIELJ. 

"P.  S. — Miss  Booth  and  Mr.  Rhodes  send  their  love  to 
you.  Henry  James  was  here  and  made  me  a  good  visit  a 
few  days  ago.  He  and  I  have  talked  of  going  to  see  you 
this  winter.  I  lear  we  cannot  do  it.  How  far  is  it  from 
here?  Burke,  was  it  prophetic  that  my  last  word  to  you 
ended  on  the  picture  of  the  Capitol  of  Congress? 

"J.  A.  G." 

The  letter  was  written  on  Congress  note  paper,  and  the 
sheet  was  entirely  filled,  so  that  the  last  few  words  were 
written  crosswise;  and,  as  is  said  by  the  General,  his  last 
word  came  across  the  little  picture  at  the  upper  left-hand 


MISCELLANEOUS.  123 

corner  of  the  sheet.  Whether  the  General  means  to  ask  in 
regard  to  the  prophetic  significance  in  his  own  case,  or  that 
ot  Ilinsdale,  is  not  known;  but  it  certainly  came  true  in 
his  own  case. 


Gen.  Garfield's  Speech  Before  the  Hiram  College  Reunion  Association— Ths 
Commencement  Day  of  1880  Long  to  be  Remembered. 

On  this  happy  occasion,  President  Ilinsdale  introduced 
Gen.  Garfield  as  follows:  It  is  with  a  good  deal  of  satisfac 
tion  and  pride  that  I  now  introduce  to  you  one  into  whose 
face  most  all  of  you  have  looked  hundreds  of  times,  a  fellow 
student  with  some  of  you,  and  a  co-worker  in  the  institu 
tion  with  others,  a  teacher  of  a  larger  number,  a  man  who 
for  years  has  been  near  and  dear  to  us,  and  whose  presence 
here  to-day  has  lifted  what  otherwise  would  have  been  a 
comparatively  humble  though  a  very  pleasant  and  enjoyable 
occasion  to  the  rank  and  dignity  of  a  national  matter — Gen. 
Garfield. 

Gen.  Garfield  arose  and  said  : 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN:  I  said  that  there  were  two 
chapters  in  the  history  of  this  Institute.  You  have  heard 
the  one  relating  to  the  founders.  They  were  all  pioneers 
of  this  Western  Reserve,  or  nearly  all ;  they  were  all  men 
of  knowledge  and  great  force  of  character;  nearly  all  not 
men  of  means,  but  they  planted  this  little  institution.  In 
1850  it  was  a  cornfield,  with  a  solid,  plain  brick  building  in 
the  centre  of  it,  and  that  was  all.  Almost  all  the  rest  has 
been  done  by  the  institution  itself.  That  is  the  second 
chapter. 

Without  a  dollar  of  endowment,  without  a  powerful 
friend  anywhere,  but  with  a  corps  of  teachers  who  were  told 
to  go  on  to  the  ground  and  see  what  they  could  make  out 


124  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELI). 

of  it,  to  find  their  own  pay  out  of  the  little  tuition  that 
they  could  receive.  They  invited  students  of  their  own 
spirit  to  come  on  the  ground  and  see  what  they  could  make 
out  of  it,  and  the  response  has  been* that  many  have  come, 
and  the  chief  part  of  the  respondents  I  see  in  the  faces 
around  and  before  me  to-day.  It  was  a  simple  question 
of  sinking  or  swimming  for  themselves.  And  I  know  that 
we  are  all  inclined  to  be  a  little  clannish  over  our  own. 
We  have,  perhaps,  a  right  to  be,  but  I  do  not  know  of  any 
place,  I  do  not  know  of  any  institution  that  has  accom 
plished  more  with  so  little  means  as  has  this  school  on 
Hiram  Hill. 

I  know  of  no  place  where  the  doctrine  of  self-help  has  a 
fuller  development,  by  necessity  as  well  as  finally  by 
choice,  as  here  on  this  hill.  The  doctrine  of  self-help  and 
of  force  has  the  chief  place  among  these  men  and  women 
around  here.  As  I  said  a  great  many  years  ago  about  that, 
the  act  of  Hiram  was  to  throw  its  young  men  and  women 
overboard  and  let  them  try  it  for  themselves,  and  all  those 
men  able  to  get  ashore  got  ashore,  and  I  think  we  have  few 
cases  of  drowning  anywhere. 

Now,  I  look  over  these  faces  and  I  mark  the  several 
geological  changes  remarked  by  Mr.  .Atwater  so  well  in  his 
address;  but  in  the  few  cases  of  change  of  geological  fact 
there  is,  I  find,  no  fossils.  Some  are  dead  and  glorified  in 
our  memories,  but  those  who  are  not  are  alive — I  think  all. 

The  teachers  and  the  studens  of  this  school  built  it  up  in 
every  sense.  They  made  the  cornfield  into  Hiram  Campus. 
Those  fine  groves  you  see  across  the  road  they  planted.  I 
well  remember  the  day  when  they  turned  out  into  the 
woods  to  find  beautiful  maples,  and  brought  them  in; 
when  they  raised  a  little  purse  to  purchase  evergreen; 
when  each  young  man,  for  himself  one,  and  perhaps  a 
second  for  some  young  lady,  if  he  was  in  love,  planted  two 


MISCELLANEOUS.  125 

trees  on  the  campus  and  then  named  them  after  himself. 
There  are  several  here  to-day  who  remember  Bolen.  Bolen 
planted  there  a  tree,  arid  Bolen  has  planted  a  tree  that  has 
a  lustre — Bolen  was  shot  through  the  heart  at  Winchester. 

There  are  many  here  that  can  go  and  find  the  tree  that 
you  have  named  after  yourself.  They  are  great,  strong 
trees  to-day,  and  your  names,  like  your  trees,  are,  I  hope, 
growing  still.  • 

I  believe  outside  of  or  beyond  the  physical  features 
of  the  place,  that  there  was  a  stronger  pressure  of  work  to 
the  square  inch  in  the  boilers  that  run  this  establishment 
than  any  other  that  I  know  of,  and,  as  has  been  so  well 
said,  that  has  told  all  the  while  with  these  young  men  and 
women.  The  struggle,  wherever  the  uncouth  and  un 
tutored  farmer  boys — a  farmer,  of  course — that  came  here 
to  try  themselves  and  find  what  kind  of  people  they  were. 
They  came  here  to  go  on  a  voyage  of  discovery.  Your 
discovery  was  yourselves,  in  many  cases.  I  hope  the 
discovery  was  a  fortune,  and  the  friendships  then  formed 
out  of  that  have  bound  this  group  of  people  longer  and 
farther  than  most  any  other  I  have  known  in  life.  They 
are  scattered  all  over  the  United  States,  in  every  field 
of  activity,  and  if  I  hud  time  to  name  them,  the  sun  tfould 
go  down  before  I  had  finished. 

I  believe  the  rules  of  this  institution  limits  us  to  time— 
I  think  it  is  said  five  minutes.  I  may  have  overgone  it 
already.  We  have  so  many  already  that  we  want  to  hear 
from,  we  will  all  volunteer.  We  expect  now  to  wrestle 
awhile  with  the  work  before  us.  Some  of  these  boys 
remember  the  time  when  I  had  an  exercise  that  I  remem 
ber  with  pleasure.  I  called  a  young  lad  out  in  a  class  and 
said,  in  two  minutes  you  are  to  speak  to  the  best  of  your 
ability  on  the  following  subject  .(naming  it),  and  give  the 
subject  and  let  him  wrestle  with  it.  I  was  trying  a 


126          STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIEFD. 

theory,  and  I  believe  that  wrestling  was  a  good  thing.  I 
will  not  vary  the  performance  save  in  this.  I  will  call  you 
and  restrict  you  to  five  minutes,  and  let  you  select  your 
theme  about  the  old  days  of  Hiram. 

Now,  we'  have  a  grave  judge  in  this  audience,'  who 
wandered  away  from  Iliram  into  the  Forty-Second  Regi 
ment  into  the  South,  and,  after  the  victory,  stayed  there.  I 
will  call  now,  not  as  a  volunteer  "man,  but  as  a  drafted  man 
— Judge  Clark  of  Mississippi. 


Garfield's  First  Eide  on  the  Cars— First  Visit  to  Columbus— First  School, 
Etc.— Interesting  Eeminiscences. 

It  was  the  good  fortune  of  the  writer  of  this  to  spend  the 
first  two  weeks  of  the  notable  campaign  of  1877  with  Gen. 
Garfield.  It  was  almost  evident  to  the  best-informed  poli 
tical  calculator  that  the  Republicans  must  be  defeated  that 
year.  Fate  was  against  them,  and  whatever  herculean 
efforts  might  be  made  could  only  be  in  vain.  The  excuse 
was  this  and  that,  but  the  fact  was  a  conglomeration  of  ad 
verse  circumstances  which  no  one  could  successfully  con 
tend  against. 

The  campaign  was  opened  on  a  bright  day  in  early 
autumn,  under  the  beautiful  elms  and  maples  of  that  de 
lightful  old  university  town  of  Athens.  Hon.  Stanley 
Matthews,  recently  elected  United  States  Senator,  Judge 
West,  candidate  for  Governor,  and  Gen.  Garfield,  together 
with  several  lesser  lights  in  the  party,  were  present  and 
made  speeches.  It  was  an  occasion  full  of  importance,  and 
was  carefully  reported  in  the  daily  press  of  the  entire 
country. 

The  meeting  was  held  on  Saturday  afternoon,  and  the 
General  found  it  necessary  to  remain  in  the  town  over  Sun 
day.  .Mter  taking  a  stroll  about  the  town  during  the  fore- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  127 

noon,  and  reading  his  usual  amount  from  some  popular 
volume,  the  General,  later  in  the  day,  in  the  presence  of 
Capt.  C.  E.  Henry  and  myself,  said: 

"  Many  interesting  reminiscences  which  it  is  very  diffi 
cult  for  me  to  express  have  run  through  my  mind  during 
the  past  twenty-four  hours.  While  speaking  from  the 
stand  in  the  college  campus,  yesterday,  I  could  not  refrain 
from  casting  my  eyes  up  to  a  certain  window  in  the  main 
building  which  opens  into  a  room  where  I  spent  a  night, 
some  twenty-five  years  ago,  in  the  company  of  my  cousin 
Ellis  Ballon,  who  was  a  student  here. 

"  I  had  come  all  the  way  from  our  home  in  Cuyahoga 
county  with  my  mother.  It  had  been  an  eventful  journey 
to  me. 

"I  had  rode  for  the  first  time  on  the  cars." 

"  I  had  been  for  the  first  time  to  the  capital,  and  been 
shown  with  my  mother  through  the  halls  of  the  State 
House. 

"Hon.  Gamaliel  Kent  was  the  Eepresentative  from 
Geauga  county,  and  he  showed  us  about.  From  there  we 
come  on  to  Athens,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  which 
town  resided  my  mother's  relatives. 

"  That  winter  I  taught  my  first  school  in  a  log  house  in 
this  vicinity. 

u  I  dug  the  coal  which  was  burned  during  the  winter 
from  the  bank  in  the  rear  of  the  house,  and  worked  for,  I 
think,  $10  per  month.  It  was  an  eventful  winter  for  me. 
I  had  some  scholars  who  had  been  reported  as  somewhat 
hard,  but  I  think  that  I  succeeded  reasonably  well  in  keep 
ing  order." 

"  Was  this  before  or  after  your  canal  experience?" 

"  It  was  after  that,  some  time.  I  had  given  up  all  idea 
of  a  life  on  the  canal  at  that  time,  but  I  did  expect  to  go 
on  the  sea  even  then." 


126  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFIELD. 

At  this  early  period  the  books  which  the  young  General 
mostly  read  were  tales  of  the  sea.  These  were  the  only 
stories  that  could  be  easily  obtained. 

The  General  says  that  he  most  vividly  remembers  the 
"  Pirate's  Own  Book,"  and  the  impression  which  it  made 
lived  with  him  for  years.  He  dreamed  of  an  impossible 
career  on  the  ocean. 

The  great  statesman  was  a  good  reader  at  3  years  old,  and 
was  remarkable  for  the  faculty  which  he  exhibited  for  re 
taining  almost  verbatim  the  contents  of  the  volumes  which 

o 

he  perused.  It  is  reported  by  the  good  people  of  the  vicin 
ity,  who  were  boys  with  the  General,  that  he  often  annoyed 
teachers  of  somewhat  limited  education  by  the  numberless 
questions  which  he  asked  them. 


Garfield's  Extra  Session  Speech— Turning  on  the  Light. 

General  Garfield,  at  the  extra  session  of  Congress  in 
1879,  turned  a  flood  of  the  fierce  light  of  history  upon  the 
disgraceful  record  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  then  made 
clear  that  their  attitude  at  that  time  in  threatening  to  stop 
the  supplies  of  the  Government  unless  their  schemes  look 
ing  to  the  removal  of  the  safeguards  that  surround  the 
ballot-box  were  permitted  was  as  unpatriotic  and  pestiferous 
as  their  attitude  during  the  war.  It  was  in  the  course  of 
this  great  effort  that  he  spoke  the  following  words,  which 
indicate  the  intense  patriotic  earnestness  and  the  frank  fear 
lessness  of  the  man: 

I.  desire  to  ask  the  forbearance  of  the  gentlemen  on  the 
other  side  for  remarks  I  dislike  to  make,  for  they  will  bear 
witness  that  I  have  in  many  ways  shown  my  desire  that  the 
wounds  of  the  war  should  be  healed,  and  that  the  grass 
that  God  plants  over  the  graves  of  our  dead  may  signalize 


MISCELLANEOUS.  12D 

the  return  of  the  Spring  of  friendship  and  peace  "between 
all  parts  of  the  country.  But  I  am  compelled  by  the 
necessity  of  the  situation  to  refer  for  a  moment  to  a  chapter 
of  history. 

The  last  act  of  the  Democratic  domination  in  this  house, 
eighteen  years  ago,  was  stirring  and  dramatic,  but  it  was 
heroic  and  whole-souled.  Then  the  Democratic  party  said: 
44  If  you  elect  your  man  as  President  of  the  United  States 
we  will  shoot  your  Union  to  death." 

And  the  people  of  this  country,  not  willing  to  be 
coerced,  but  believing  they  had  a  right  to  vote  for  Abraham 
Lincoln  if  they  chose,  did  elect  him  lawfully  as  President,, 
and  then  your  leaders,  in  control  of  the  majority  of  the 
other  wing  of  this  Capitol,  did  the  heroic  thing  of  with 
drawing  from  their  seats,  and  your  Representatives  with 
drew  from  their  seats  and  flung  down  to  us  the  gage  of 
mortal  battle.  "We  called  it  rebellion,  but  we  admitted 
that  it  was  honorable,  that  it  was  courageous,  and  that  it 
was  noble  to  give  us  the  fell  gage  of  battle,  and  fight  it,  out 
in  the  open  field. 

That  conflict,  and  what  followed,  we  all  know  too  well; 
and  to-day,  after  eighteen  years,  the  book  of  your  domina 
tion  is  opened  where  you  turned  down  your  leaves  in  1360, 
and  you  are  signalizing  your  return  to  power  by  reading 
the  second  chapter  (not  this  time  an  heroic  one)  that  de 
clares  that  if  we  do  not  let  you  dash  a  statute  out  of  the 
book  you  will  not  shoot  the  Union  to  death  as  in  the  first 
chapter — but  starve  it  to  death  by  refusing  the  necessary  * 
appropriations. 

You,  gentlemen,  have  it  in  your  power  to  kill  it  by  this 
movement.  You  have  it  in  your  power,  by  withholding 
these  two  bills,  to  smite  the  nerve  centers  of  our  Constitu 
tion  to  the  stillness  of  death ;  arid  you  have  declared  your 
purpose  to  do  it  if  you  cannot  break  down  the  elements 

9 


130  STORIES  AND  SKE1CHES  OF  GARFIELT). 

ot  free  consent  that,  up  to  this  time,  have  always  ruled  in 
the  Government. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  sentences  quoted  were 
burned  into  the  memories  of  the  Democracy.  In  the  light 
of  Garfield's  unsparing  but  candid  arraignment  they  were 
forced  to  see  along  with  the  rest  of  the  people  that  their 
party,  according  to  the  measure  of  its  opportunity,  was  as 
much  a  foe  to  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  the  American 
Union  as  the  Democracy  of  the  war. 


Anecdote  of  Gen.  Garfleld  at  Murfreesboro,  Illustrating  a  Noble  Trait  of  His 

Character. 

The  following  reminiscence  throws  additional  light  on 
noble  character  oi  Garfield  : 

Gareschi,  Rosecrans's  Chief  of  Staff,  was  killed  the  first 
day  of  the  light  at  Murfreesboro.  A  solid  shot  left  his 
body  headless.  Old  Rosey,  as  he  was  familiarly  and  affec 
tionately  called  by  the  boys,  who  was  at  Garashee's  side 
when  the  fatal  shot  took  effect,  glanced  at  the  faithful 
officer's  corpse,  and  exclaiming  "  poor  fellow,"  called  out : 
"  Scatter,  gentlemen,  scatter." 

The  order  was  obeyed  by  staff  and  orderlies  with  more 
than  alacrity,  as  the  enemy  had  us  in  blank  range  of  a  well- 
manned  battery,  the  shot  flying  thick  and  fast,  without  any 
apparent  respect  of  persons.  A  few  days  after,  says 
Thomas  Daughberty,  who  tells  this  story,  I  do  not  remem 
ber  how  many,  but  it  was  after  we  had  got  into  quarters  in 
the  town  of  Murfreesboro,  Garfield  joined  us,  to  take  the 
dead  man,  Gareschi's  place  as  Chief  of  Staff. 

We  boys  thought  he  was  a  perfect  success,  and  as  an 
illustration  of  his  kindness  of  heart,  a  virtue  not  often 
practiced  by  army  officers  in  the  field,  toward  subordinates 
at  least,  I  give  you  this  little  story  : 


MISCELLANEOUS.  131 

One  night,  very  late,  tne  ooys  being  rolled  in  their 
blankets  on  the  hall  floor  asleep,  and  I  at  my  post,  sitting 
in  a  chair  at  the  Commanding  General's  door,  awaiting 
orders  to  be  taken  to  their  destination  by  my  then  sleeping 
comrades;  the  light  but  a  tallow  candle  stuck  in  a  sardine 
box;  I,  with  chair  tilted  against  the  wall,  had  fallen  asleep 
too,  when  Gen.  Garfield,  the  new  Chief  of  Staff,  emerged 
from  the  head  quarter-room  quickly.  Not  noticing  my 
extended  limbs,  he  tripped  over  them  and  dropped  to  hands 
and  knees  on  the  floor.  As  he  was  no  light  weight,  even 
then  the  fall  was  not  easy. 

Affrighted,  I  jumped  to  my  feet,  stood  at  attention,  and, 
as  the  General  arose,  saluted,  expecting  nothing  else  than 
to  be  cuffed,  and  probably  kicked,  too,  from  one  end  of  the 
hall  to  the  other.  But,  to  my  astonishment,  he  kindly  and 
quietly  said:  "  Excuse  me,  Sergeant."  I  not  only  excused 
him,  but,  with  all  our  little  command,  to  whom  the  inci 
dent  was  told,  revered  him. 


The  First  Garfield  Club— Organized  by  the  Students  at  Williamstown,  Mass 
Every  ballot  at  the  Chicago  Convention  was  announced 
immediately  to  a  large  and  expectant  crowd  at  Williams 
College  (Gen.  Garfield  is  a  graduate  of  Williams  College) 
as  fast  as  received.  When  the  news  came  that  a  son 
of  Williams  College  was  nominated,  the  crowd  went  wild. 
The  students,  headed  by  a  man  carrying  the  American, 
flag,  marched  to  the  President's  house,  where  Dr.  Chad- 
bourn  made  a  speech.  A  mass  meeting  was  then  held  by 
the  students  in  Alumni  Hall,  and  a  grand  ratification 
meeting  was  appointed.  A  brass  band  was  engaged, 
together  with  prominent  speakers  of  Berkshire  County.  A 
Garfield  Club  was  organized  also,  and  a  grand  procession 
planned,  all  before  2 : 30  p.  m.  The  College  took  a  holiday 
in  honor  of  the  nomination,  and  has  the  honor  of  organizing 
the  first  Garfield  Club  in  the  country. 


W2  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  OARFIELD. 

Dimity  of  American  Citizenship -Garfield' a  Element  Speest  in  Wrshin-ton 
After  His  Nomination,  Delivered  June  16lh,  1880. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS:  While  I  have  looked  upon  tin's  great 
array,  I  believe  I  have  gotten  a  new  idea  of  the  majesty 
of  the  American  people. 

When  I  reflect  that  wherever  you  find  the  sovereign 
power,  every  reverent  heart  on  earth  bows  before  it,  and 
when  I  remember  that  here,  for  a  hundred  years,  we  have 
denied  the  sovereignty  of  any  man,  and  in  place  of  it  we 
have  asserted  the  sovereignty  of  all  in  place  of  one,  I  see 
before  so  vast  a  concourse  that  it  is  easy  for  me  to  imagine 
that  the  rest  of  the  American  people  are  gathered  here 
to-night;  and,  if  they  were  all  here,  every  man  would  stand 
uncovered  and  in  unsandaled  feet  in  the  presence  of  the 
majesty  of  the  only  sovereign  power  in  this  Government 
under  Almighty  God;  and,  therefore,  to  this  great 
audience  I  pay  the  respectful  homage  that  in  part  belongs 
to  the  sovereignty  of  the  people. 

I  thank  you  for  this  great  and  glorious  demonstration.  I 
am  not  for  one  moment  misled  into  believing  that  it  refers- 
to  so  poor  a  thing  as  any  one  of  our  number.  I  know  it 
means  your  reverence  to  your  Government,  your  reverence 
for  its  laws,  your  reverence  for  its  institutions,  and  your 
compliment  to  one  who  is  placed  for  a  moment  in  relations- 
to  you  of  peculiar  importance.  For  all  these  reasons  I 
thank  you. 

I  cannot  at  this  time  utter  a  word  on  the  subject  of 
general  politics.  I  would  not  mar  the  cordiality  of  this 
welcome,  to  which  to  some  extent  all  are  gathered,  l>y  any 
reference  except  to  the  present  moment  and  its  significance. 
But  I  wish  to  say  that  a  large  portion  of  this  assemblage 
to-night  are  my  comrades  in  the  late  war  for  the  Union. 
For  them  I  can  speak  with  entire  propriety,  and  can  say 
that  these  very  streets  heard  the  measured  tread  of  your 


MISCELLANEOUS.  133 

disciplined  feet  years  ago,  when  the  imperiled  "Republic 
needed  your  hands  and  your  hearts  to  save  it,  and  you  came 
hack  with,  your  numbers  decimated,  but  those  you  left 
behind  were  immortal  and  glorified  heroes  forever,  and 
those  you  brought  back  came  carrying  under  tattered  ban 
ners  and  in  bronzed  hands  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  youi 
Republic  in  safety  out  of  the  bloody  baptism  of  the  war, 
and  you  brought  it  in  safety  to  be  saved  forever  by  your 
valor  and  the  wisdom  of  your  brethren  who  were  at  home, 
and  by  this  you  were  again  added  to  the  civil  army  of  the 

Republic. 

I  greet  you,  comrades  and  fellow- soldiers,  and  the  great 
body    of  'distinguished    citizens    who   are   gathered   here 
to-night,  who  are  the  strong  stay  and  support  of  business, 
of  prosperity,  of  peace,  of  civic  order,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Republic,  and  I  thank  you  for  your  welcome  to-night.      It 
was  said  in  a  welcome  to  one  who  came  to  England  to  be  a 
part  of  her  glory,  and  ail  the  nation  spoke  when  it  said: 
Korinans,  and  Saxons,  and  Danes  are  we, 
But  all  of  us  Danes  in  our  welcome  of  thee. 
And  we  say  to-night  of  all  the  nations,  of  all  the  people, 
soldiers  and  civilians,  there  is  one  name  that  welds  us  ^all 
into  one.     It  is  the  name  of  an  American  under  the  Union 
and  under  the  glory  of  the  flag  that  leads  us  to  victory  and 
to  peace. 


4  The  Member  from  New  York.' 


Gen.  Garfield  in  his  school  days  used  to  take  the  part  of 
"the  member  from  New  York"  in  the  miniature  House  of 
€ongre*s  which  his  elocution  class  had  formed  itself  into. 
He  fs  said  to  have  enjoyed  this  exceedingly,  and  his  orator/ 
excelled  that  of  all  the  others. 


134          STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  QARFIEFD. 

The  Canal  Story  a*  Told  by  the  Man  Who  Employed  Young  Garfleld  to  Drive' 
on  the  Tow  Path. 

The  gentleman  who  employed  young  Garfield  to  drive  on 
the  "  Tow  path  "  is  still  living,  and  resides  in  Jersey  City. 
His  name  is  Jonathan  Myers.  He  gives  the  following  full 
account  of  "Jim  Garfi  eld's  "  canal  labors: 

"  He  was  a  driver  for  me  on  the  Ohio  Canal.  I  have- 
watched  his  career  ever"  since  he  left  me,  and  have  felt  very 
much  interested  in  him,  and  gratified  to  see  what  he  has 
achieved. 

The  first  time  he  ran  for  the  Legislature  of  Ohio  he  was- 
in  my  district,  and  I  voted  for  him.  After  that  I  moved 
East,  and  that  is  the  only  time  I  ever  voted  for  him.  When 
he  left  me  he  did  not  'boat'  any  more. 

It  is  a  mistake  about  his  ever  having  been  a  steersman, 
lie  was  not  large  enough  for  a  steersman.  "When  he  waa 
in  my  employ  he  was  not  more  than  13  years  of  age. 

I  remember  when  he  applied  to  me  for  a  job  on  my 
boat.  He  was  a  stout,  healthy  boy,  and  his  frank,  open 
countenance  impressed  me  so  much  that  I  at  once  employed 
him.  He  was  always  full  of  fun,  and  exceedingly  good 
natured.  I  never  saw  him  mad.  He  was  with  me  about 
three  months. 

He  was  always  very  attentive  to  his  business.  He  was 
also  a  great  boy  to  read.  If  he  was  not  busy  he  was  always 
reading.  I  scarcely  ever  saw  him  idle.  One  day,  as  we 
were  going  up  the  canal,  he  came  to  me  and  said  he  would 
like  to  get  a  place  where  he  could  work  and  attend  school. 

I  knew  of  a  doctor  by  the  name  of  Kobinson  who  lived 
near  me,  who  was  in  need  of  a  boy  to  attend  his  horse  and 
do  chores  about  his  place.  I  told  "  Jim  "  he  had  better  go 
up  and  see  the  Doctor,  and  if  he  had  not  got  a  boy  he  had 
better  get  the  place.  I  disliked  to  part  with  him,  but 
J  saw  he  was  too  intelligent  a  lad  to  be  driving  a  canal-boatl 


MISCELLANEOUS.  135 

He  went  up,  and  the  Doctor  i  froze  '  to  him  at  once.  The 
Doctor  was  what  you  might  call  a  minister.  He  was  a 
Campbellite,  and  a  very  good  man  indeed. 

During  the  first  winter  ;' Jim"  was  with  the  Doctor  he 
got  converted,  and  after  he  got  converted  they  "  froze  "  to 
him  tighter  than  ever.  When  spring  came,  "  Jim  "  wanted 
to  get  some  work  to  enable  him  to  buy  some  clothes,  and 
he  spoke  to  the  Doctor  about  it.  The  Doctor  told  him  he 
must  not  leave  school — that  he  must  go  through  now. 
"Jim  "said: 

"  Doctor,  but  I  haven't  got  any  money."  The  Doctor 
told  him  that  was  all  right — that  he  would  stand  behind 
him. 

I  remember  that  he  was  a  very  poor  boy,  and 
that  I  was  very  favorably  impressed  with  him.  These 
canal  boys  were  generally  a  shiftless  lot  of  fellows,  and  it 
was  hard  work  to  get  a  good  boy.  Our  boats  were  different 
then  from  what  they  are  now.  "We  used  to  have  them 
fitted  up  nicely  to  carry  passengers  as  well  as  freight.  My 
wife  used  to  be  on  the  boat  with  me,  and  she  thought  a 
good  deal  of  "  Jim." 

The  great  difficulty  we  had  with  the  drivers  on  our  boats 
was  that  they  would  lie,  but  if  you  got  anything  from 
"  Jim  "  you  coufd  always  rely  on  it.  I  never  caught  him 
in  a  lie  while  he  was  with  me.  He  was  getting  $10  a 
month  and  his  board,  and  that  was  considered  very  big 
wages.  He  was  born  in  Orange,  Cuyahoga  County,  O.  He 
came  to  me  as  any  other  boy  to  hire  out. 


The  Turning  Point  in  Garfiela's  Life,  and  How  It  Happened. 

The  following  anecdote  concerning  Garfield's  early  life 
shows  a  critical  period  of  the  boy's  experience: 

Garfield  was  then  a  green,  awkward  boy  of  16,  and  was 


186  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  GARFTELD. 

revolving  in  his  mind  the  feasibility  of  taking  a  course  of 
liberal  study.  He  knew  that  Dr.  Robinson  was  in  town, 
and  had  seen  him  at  his  mother's  house,  arid  had  confidence 
in  Ids  judgment.  He  called  around,  therefore,  at  the 
President's  house,  and  asked  for  Dr.  Robinson.  The  Doctor 
was  at  his  dinner,  but  soon  finished,  and  came  out  to  see 
what  his  young  friend  wanted. 

"  I  want  to  see  you  alone,"  said  Garfield. 

"Who  are  you?"  asked  the  grutf  but  kind-hearted 
Doctor. 

"  My  name  is  James  Garfield,  from  Solon,"  replied  the 
latter. 

"Oh!  I  know  your  mother,  and  knew  you   when  you 
were  a  babe  in  arms;  but  you  had  outgrown  my  knowledge. 
.    I  am  glad  to  see  you." 

The  young  man  led  the  way  toward  a  secluded  spot  on 
the  south  side  of  Hiram  Hill;  and,  as  they  proceeded,  the 
Doctor  took  a  good  look  at  his  companion.  He  was  a 
young  man  .quite  shabbily  dressed,  with  coarse  satinet 
pajitaloons,  which  were  far  outgrown,  and  did  not  reach 
more  than  half-way  down  his  cowhide  boot-tops.  His  vest 
did  not  meet  the  waistband  of  his  pants,  and  his  arms 
reached  far  out  through  the  sleeves  of  his  coat.  His  head 
was  clothed  with  a  coarse  wool  hat,  which  had  also  seen 
much  wear,  arid  slouclu-d  upon  his  head. 

"  He  was  wonderfully  awkward,"  said  the  good  Doctor 
(who  tells  this  story),  "and  had  a  sort  of  independent,  go-as- 
you-please  gait.  At  length  we  reached  a  spot  that  was 
covered  with  papaw  bushes,  and  we  took  a  seat  on  a  log. 
After  a  little  hesitation  the  young  man  said: 

"You  are  a  physician,  and  know  the  fibre  that  is  in  men. 
Examine  me  and  tell  me  with  the  utmost  frankness  whether 
I  had  better  take  ?i  course  of  liberal  study.  1  am  con- 
templating  doing  so.  My  desire  is  in  that  direction.  But, 


MISCELLANEOUS.  137 

if  I  am  to  make  a  tailure  of  it,  or  practically  BO,  I  do  not 
desire  to  begin.  If  you  advise  me  not  to  do  so,  I  shall  feel 
content." 

"  I  felt  that  I  was  on  my  sacred  honor,  and  the  young 
man  looked  as  though  he  felt  himself  on  trial.  I  had  had 
considerable  experience  as  a  physician,  but  here  was  a  case 
much  different  from  any  other  I  had  ever  had.  I  felt  it 
must  be  handled  with  great  care. 

I  examined  his  head,  and  saw  that  there  was  a  mag 
nificent  brain  there.  I  sounded  his  lungs,  and  found  that 
they  were  strong  and  capable  of  making  good  blood.  I 
felt  his  pulse,  and  saw  that  there  w.as  an  engine  capable  of 
sending  the  blood  up  to  the  head  to  feed  the  brain.  I  had 
seen  many  strong  physical  systems,  with  warm  feet,  but 
cold,  sluggish  brain;  and  those  who  possessed  such  systems 
would  simply  sit  around  and  doze.  Therefore  I  was 
anxious  to  know  about  the  kind  of  an  engine  to  run  that 
delicate  machine,  the  brain.  At  the  end  of  a  fifteen- 
minutes'  careful  examination  of  this  kind,  we  rose,  and  I 
said:  'Go  on,  follow  the  leadings  of  your  ambition,  and 
ever  after  I  am  your  friend.  You  have  the  brain  of  a 
Webster,  and  you  have  the  physical  proportions  that  will 
back  you  in  the  most  herculean  efforts.  All  you  need  to 
do  is  to  work.  Work  hard — do  not  be  afraid  of  over 
working — and  you  will  make  your  mark.'" 

The  Doctor  and  the  General  visited  the  spot  made  thn^ 
sacred  as  the  witness  of  the  turning  point  in  Garfield's 
life,  on  the  day  of  the  recent  Hiram  commencement. 

"  I  invited  the  General  to  come  to  my  house  in  Bedford, 
in  order  that  I  might  talk  the  matter  over  more  fully  with 
him ;  and  in  a  short  time  he  did  so.  The  General  has  often 
told  me  that  the  conversation  gave  him  confidence  in  him 
self,  which  he  had  never  had  before,  and  he  went  on  with 
his  course,  and,  as  is  already  known,  won  for  himself  the 
highest  honors  of  his  class,  and  of  the  world  at  large. 


188  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  QARFIELD. 

In«  Method!  and  Habits  of  Garfield  While  a  Teacher-How  He  Played  With 
the  Boys,  Shook  Hands,  Lectured,  Etc. 

The  Rev.  J.  L.  Darsie,  of  Danbliry,  Conn.,  was  one  of 
Garfield's  pupils  in  his  school  days.  He  thus  describes  the 
habits  and  methods  of  Professor  Garfield: 

"  I  attended  school  at  the  Western  Reserve  Eclectic  In 
stitute  when  Garfield  was  Principal,  and  I  recall  vividly 
Gen.  Garfield's  method  of  teaching. 

"  He  took  very  kindly  to  me,  and  assisted  me  in  various 
ways,  because  I  was  poor  and  was  janitor  of  the  buildings, 
and  swept  them  out  in  the  morning  and  built  the  fires,  as 
he  had  done  only  six  years  before,  when  he  was  a  pupil  at 
the  same  school. 

He  was  full  of  animal  spirits,  and  he  used  to  run  out  on 
the  green  almost  every  day  and  play  cricket  with  us.  He 
was  a  tall,  strong  man,  but  dreadfully  awkward.  Every 
now  and  then  he  would  get  a  hit  on  the  nose,  and  he  muffed 
his  ball  and  lost  his  hat  as  a  regular  thing. 

He  was  left-handed,  too,  and  that  made  him  seem  all  the 
clumsier.  But  he  was  most  powerful  and  very  quick,  and 
it  was  easy  for  us  to  understand  how  it  was  that  he  had  ac 
quired  the  reputation  of  whipping  all  the  other  mule  driv 
ers  on  the  canal,  and  of  making  himself  the  hero  of  that 
thoroughfare  when  he  followed  its  tow-path  ten  years 
earlier. 

No  matter  how  old  the  pupils  were,  Garfield  always 
called  us  by  our  first  names,  and  kept  himself  on  the  most 
lamiliar  terms  with  all.  He  played  with  us  freely,  scuffled 
with  us  sometimes,  walked  with  us  in  walking  too  and  fro, 
and  we  treated  him  out  of  the  class  room  just  about  as  we 
did  one  another.  Yet  he  was  a  most  strict  disciplinarian, 
and  enforced  the  rules  like  a  martinet. 

He  combined  an  affectionate  and  confiding  manner  with 
a  respect  for  order  in  a  most  successful  manner.  If  he 
wanted  to  speak  to  a  pupil,  either  for  reproof  or  approba- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  139 

tion,  lie  would  generally  manage  to  get  one  arm  aronnd 
him  and  draw  him  up  close  to  him. 

He  had  a  peculiar  way  of  shaking  hands,  too,  giving  a 
twist  to  your  arm  and  drawing  you  right  up  to  him.  This 
sympathetic  manner  has  helped  him  to  advancement. 
"When  I  was  a  janitor  he  used  sometimes  to  stop  me  and 
ask  my  opinion  about  this  and  that,  as  if  seriously  advising 
with  me.  I  can  see  now  that  my  opinion  could  not  have 
been  of  any  value,  and  that  he  probably  asked  me  partly  to 
increase  my  self-respect,  and  partly  to  show  me  that  he  felt 
an  interest  in  me.  I  certainly  was  his  friend  all  the  firmer 
-for  it. 

I  remember  once  asking  him  what  was  the  best  way  to 
pursue  a  certain  study,  and  he  said: 

"Use  several  text-books.  Get  the  views  of  different 
authors  as  you  advance.  In  that  way  you  can  plow  a 
broader  furrow.  I  always  study  in  that  way."  He  tried 
hard  to  teach  us  to  observe  carefully  and  accurately.  He 
broke  out  one  day  with: 

"  Henry,  how  many  posts  are  there  under  the  building 
downstairs? "  Henry  expressed  his  opinion,  and  the  ques 
tion  went  around  the  class,  hardly  one  getting  it  right. 

He  was  the  keenest  observer  I  ever  saw.  I  think  he  no 
ticed  and  numbered  every  button  on  our  coats. 

A  friend  of  mine  was  walking  with  him  through  Cleve 
land  one  day  when  Garfield  stopped  and  darted  down  a 
cellarway,  asking  his  companion  to  follow,  and  briefly 
pausing  to  explain  himself.  The  sign  "  Saws  and  Files  " 
was  over  the  door,  and  in  the  depths  was  heard  a  regular 
clicking  sound. 

"  I  think  this  fellow  is  cutting  files,"  said  he,  "  and  I 
have  never  seen  a  file  cut."  Down  they  went,  and,  sure 
enough,  there  was  a  man  recutting  an  old  file,  and  they 
stayed  ten  minutes  and  found  out  all  about  the  process. 


140  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  OARFIELD. 

The  Way  Garfield  Got  His  Military  Education— Using  Poles,  Blocks,  and 
Grains  of  Coffee  for  Drill  Purposes. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  Gen.  Garfield  never  had  any 
military  education  previous  to  his  taking  command  of  the 
Forty-second  .Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  But 
the  thorough  disposition  which  he  had  cultivated,  both  as 
student  and  teacher,  was  with  him  here. 

He  purchased  at  the  first  opportunity  a  copy  of  some 
book  on  military  tactics,  and  immediately  inaugurated  an 
entirely  original  method  of  learning  the  movements  of 
bodies  of  men. 

He  prepared  a  large  number  of  blocks,  each  representing 
columns  of  soldiers,  and  then  went  through  with  all  the 
various  movements  described  in  the  books,  often  working 
at  the  various  problems  until  nearly  morning. 

When  he  had  quite  well  mastered  the  rudiments  in  this 
way,  he  began  to  drill  his  officers  by  means  of  skeleton 
companies,  as  he  called  them.  He  had  prepared  long  poles, 
and,  giving  the  ends  of  these  into  the  hands  of  the  men 
who  were  being  instructed,  the  marches,  counter-marches^ 
and  various  parades  would  be  gone  through  with  wonderful 
accuracy  and  dispatch. 

"I  have  carried  poles  in  this  way  many  times,"  said 
Capt.  C.  E.  Henry,  one  of  his  old  officers,  "  and,  if  I  do  say 
eo,  we  learned  the  movements  as  fast  as  the  men  of  any 
other  regiment,  even  though  the  others,  might  have  been 
presided  over  by  West  Point  officers. 

"  Finally,  he  mislaid  his  blocks,  and  adopted  grains  of 
coffee,  or  corn,  and  still  carried  on  his  military  maneuvers. 

"  I  have  heard  West  Point  officers  say  that  he  was  as 
thorough  as  any  officer  they  ever  saw  in  his  knowledge  of 
the  common  principles  of  military  affairs.  I  never  knew 
him  to  make  a  mistake  in  giving  an  order,  or  to  hesitate  in 
giving  it." 


MISCELLANEOUS.  141 

The  General  TaHnf  His  Stand  on  Furtive  Slaves— A  Story  of  the  War. 

A  member  of  Gen.  Sherman's  staff  is  authority  for  the 
following  incident,  which  is  related  as  nearly  as  possible  in 
his  words: 

"  One  day  I  noticed  a  fugitive  slave  come  rushing  into 
camp  with  a  bloody  head,  and  apparently  frightened  almost 
to  death.  He  had  only  passed  my  tent  a  moment  when  a 
regnlar  bully  of  a  fellow  came  riding  up,  and,  with  a  volley 
of  oaths,  began  to  ask  after  his  *  nigger.' 

"  Gen.  Garn'eld  was  not  present,  and  he  passed  on  to  the 
division -commander.  This  division-commander  was  a  sym 
pathizer  with  the  theory  that  fugitives  should  be  returned 
to  their  masters,  and  that  the  Union  soldiers  should  be 
made  the  instruments  for  returning  them.  He  accordingly 
wrote  a  mandatory  order  to  Gen.  Garfield,  in  whose  com_ 
mand  the  darky  was  supposed  to  be  hiding,  telling  him  to 
hunt  out  and  deliver  over  the  property  of  the  outraged 
citizen. 

"  I  stated  the  case  as  fully  as  I  could  to  Gen.  Garfield 
before  handing  him  the  order,  but  did  not  color  my  state 
ment  in  any  way.  He  took  the  order,  and  deliberately 
wrote  on  it  the  following  indorsement:  * 

"  *  I  respectfully,  but  positively,  decline  to  allow  my 
command  to  search  for,  or  deliver  up,  any  fugitive  slaves. 
I  conceive  that  they  are  here  for  quite  another  purpose. 
The  command  is  open,  and  no  obstacles  will  be  placed  in 
the  way  of  the  search.' 

"I  read  the  indorsement,  and  was  frightened.  I  expected 
that,  if  returned,  the  result  would  be  that  the  General  would 
be  court-martialed.  I  told  him  my  fears..  He  simply 
replied: 

"  '  The  matter  may  as  well  be  tested  first  as  last.  Eight 
is  right,  and  I  do  not  propose  to  mince  matters  at  all.  Mj 
poldiers  are  here  for  far  other  purposes  than  hunting  and 
returning  fugitive  slaves." 


142  STOItlKX  JA7)  SKETCHES  OF  UAKFIFLD. 

Garfield's  Letter  Accepting  the  Republican  Nomination  for  President. 

Gen.  Gfirfield  forwarded  to  Senator  Hoar,  of  Massachu 
setts,  Chairman  of  Committee,  the  following  letter  of  ac 
ceptance  of  the  nomination  tendered  him  by  the  Republican 
National  Convention: 

"  MENTOR,  O.,  July  10,  1880.— DEAR  SIR:  On  the  even 
ing  of  the  8th  of  June  last,  I  had  the  honor  to  receive  from 
you,  in  the  presence  of  the  Committee  of  which  you  were 
Chairman,  the  official  announcement  that  the  Republican 
National  Convention  at  Chicago  had  that  day  nominated 
me  as  their  candidate  for  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  I  accept  the  nomination  with  gratitude  for  the 
confidence  it  implies,  and  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  respon 
sibilities  it  imposes.  I  cordially  indorse  the  principles  set 
forth  in  the  platform  adopted  by  the  Convention.  On 
nearly  all  the  subjects  of  which  it  treated  my  opinions  are 
on  record  among  the  published  proceedings  of  Congress. 

1  venture,  however,  to  make  special  mention  of  some  of 
the  principal  topics  which  are  likely  to  become  subjects  of 
discussion,  without  reviewing  the  controversies  which  have 
been  settled  during  the  last  twenty  years,  and  with  no  pur 
pose  or  wish  to  revive  the  passions  of  the  late  war. 

STATE    SUPREMACY. 

It  should  be  said  that,  while  the  Republicans  fully 
recognize  and  will  strenuously  defend  all  the  rights  retained 
by  the  people,  and  all  the  rights  reserved  to  the  States,  they 
regret  the  pernicious  doctrine  of  State  supremacy,  which  so 
long  crippled  the  functions  of  the  national  government,  and 
at  one  time  brought  the  Union  very  near  to  destruction. 
They  insist  that  the  United  States  is  a  nation,  with  ample 
powers  of  self-preservation;  that  its  Constitution  and  the 
laws  made  in  pursuance  thereof  "are  the  supreme  law  of 
the  land;"  that  the  right  of  the  nation  to  determine  the 


MISCELLANEOUS.  143 

method  by  which  the  Legislature  shall  be  created  cannot  be 
surrendered  without  abdicating  one  of  the  fundamental 
powers  of  government;  that  the  national  laws  relating  to 
the  election  of  Representatives  in  Congress  shall  neither  be 
violated  nor  evaded;  that  every  elector  shall  be  permitted 
freely,  and  without  intimidation,  to  cast  his  lawful  vote  at 
such  election,  and  have  it  honestly  counted;  and  that  the 
potency  of  his  vote  shall  not  be  destroyed  by  the  fraudu 
lent  vote  of  any  other  person. 

NATIONAL    WELL-BEING. 

The  best  thoughts  and  energies  of  our  people  should  be 
directed  to  those  great  questions  ot  national  well-being,  in 
which  all  have  a  common  interest.  Such  efforts  will  soonest  ' 
restore  to  perfect  peace  those  who  were  lately  in  arms 
against  each  other;  for  justice  and  good-will  will  outlast 
passion.  But  it  is  certain  the  wounds  of  the  war  cannot  be 
completely  healed,  and  the  spirit  ot  brotherhood  cannot 
pervade  the  whole  country,  until  every  citizen — rich  or 
poor,  white  or  black — is  secure  in  the  free  and  equal  en 
joyment  ot  every  civil  and  political  right  guaranteed  by  the 
constitution  and  the  laws.  Wherever  the  enjoyment  of 
these  rights  is  not  assured  discontent  will  prevail,  immi 
gration  will  cease,  and  the  social  and  industrial  forces  will 
continue  to  be  disturbed  by  the  migration  of  the  laborers 
and  the  consequent  diminution  of  prosperity.  The  na 
tional  government  should  exercise  all  its  constitutional 
authority  to  put  an  end  to  these  evils;  for  all  the  people  and 
all  the  States  are  members  of  one  body,  and  no  member 
can  suffer  without  injury  to  all. 

The  most  serious  evils  which  now  afflict  the  South  arise 
from  the  fact  that  there  is  not  such  freedom  and  toleration 
of  political  opinion  and  action  that  the  minority  party  can 
exercise  an  effective  and  wholesome  restraint  upon  the 
party  in  power.  Without  such  restraint  a  party  rule  be- 


144  STOKIES  AND  SKETCHED  OF  GARFIELD. 

comes  tyrannical  and  corrupt.  The  prosperity  which  is 
made  possible  in  the  South  by  its  great  advantages  of  soil 
and  climate  will  never  be  realized  until  every  voter  can 
freely  and  safely  support  any  party  he  pleases. 

POPULAR    EDUCATION. 

And  next  in  importance  to  freedom  and  justice  is  popular 
education  without  which  neither  justice  nor  freedom  can  be 
permanently  maintained.  Its  interests  are  intrusted  to  the 
States  and  to  the  voluntary  action  of  the  people. 

Whatever  help  the  nation  can  justly  offer  should  be  gen 
erously  given  to  aid  the  States  in  supporting  common 
schools;  but  it  would  be  unjust  to  our  people. and  dangerous 
to  our  institutions  to  apply  any  portion  of  the  revenues  of 
the  nation  or  of  the  States  to  the  support  of  sectarian 
schools.  The  separation  of  the  Church  and  the  State,  in 
everything  relating  to  taxation,  should  be  absolute. 

NATION  AL    FIN  A  NCES. 

On  the  subject,  of  national  finances,  my  views  have  been 
so  frequently  and  fully  expressed  that  little  is  needed  in  the 
•way  of  additional  statement.  The  public  debt  is  now  so 
well  secured,  and  the  rate  of  annual  interest  has  been  so 
reduced  by  refunding,  that  rigid  economy  in  expenditures 
and  the  faithful  application  of  our  surplus  revenues  to  the 
payment  of  the  principal  of  the  debt  will  gradually,  but 
certainly,  free  the  people  from  its  burdens  and  close  with 
honor  the  financial  chapter  of  the  war.  At  the  same  time 
the  government  can  provide  for  all  its  ordinary  expendi 
tures,  and  discharge  its  sacred  obligations  to  the  soldiers  of 
the  Union  and  to  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those  who  fell 
in  its  defense. 

The  resumption  of  specie  payments,  which  the  Republi 
can  party  so  courageously  and  successfully  accomplished, 
lins  removed  from  the  field  of  controversy  many  questions 
that  long  and  seriously  disturbed  the  credit  of  the  govern- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  145 

men!  and  the  business  of  the  country.  Our  paper  currency 
is  now  as  national  as  the  flag,  and  resumption  has  not  only 
made  it  everywhere  equal  to  coin,  but  has  brought  into  use 
our  store  of  gold  and  silver.  The  circulating  medium  is 
now  more  abundant  than  ever  before,  and  we  need  only  to 
maintain  the  equality  of  all  our  dollars  to  insure  to  labor 
and  capital  a  measure  of  value  from  the  use  of  which  no 
one  can  suffer  loss.  The  great  prosperity  which  the  country 
is  now  enjoying  should  not  be*  endangered  by  any  violent 
changes  or  doubtful  financial  experiments. 

CUSTOMS    LAWS. 

In  reference  to  our  custom  laws,  a  policy  should  be  pur 
sued  which  will  bring  revenue  to  the  Treasury  and  will 
enable  the  labor  and  capital  employed  in  our  great  industries 
to  compete  fairly  in  our  own  markets  with  the  labor  and 
capital  of  foreign  producers.  We  legislate  for  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  not  for  the  whole  world,  and  it  is  our 
glory  that  the  American  laborer  is  more  intelligent  and 
better  paid  than  his  foreign  competitor.  Our  country  can 
not  be  independent  unless  its  people,  with  their  abundant 
natural  resources,  possess  the  requisite  skill  at  any  time  to 
clothe,  arm,  and  equip  themselves  for  war,  and  in  time  of 
peace  to  produce  all  the  necessary  implements  of  labor. 
It  was  the  manifest  intention  of  the  founders  of  the  gov 
ernment  to  provide  for  the  common  defense,  not  by  stand 
ing  armies  alone,  but  by  raising  among  the  people  a  greater 
army  of  artisans,  whose  intelligence  and  skill  should 
powerfully  contribute  to  the  safety  and  glory  of  the  nation. 

Fortunately  for  the  interests  of  commerce,  there  is  no 
longer  any  formidable  opposition  to  appropriations  for  the 
improvement  of  our  harbors  and  great  navigable  rivers, 
provided  that  the  expenditures  for  that  purpose  are  strictly 
limited  to  works  of  national  importance. 

The  Mississippi  River,  with  its  great  tributaries,  is  of 
10 


146  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  OARFIELD. 

such  vital  importance  to  so  many  millions  of  people,  that 
the  safety  of  its  navigation  requires  exceptional  considera 
tion.  In  order  to  secure  to  the  nation  the  control  of  all  its 
waters,  President  Jefferson  negotiated  the  purchase  of  a 
vast  territory,  extending  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  The  wisdom  of  Congress  should  be  invoked 
to  devise  some  plan  by  which  that  great  river  shall  cease  to 
be  a  terror  to  those  who  dwell  upon  its  banks,  and  by  which 
its  shipping  may  safely  carry  the  industrial  products  of 
25,000,000  of  people.  The  interests  of  agriculture,  which 
is  the  basis  of  all  our  material  prosperity,  and  in  which 
seven-twelfths  of  our  population  are  engaged,  as  well  as  the 
interests  of  manufacturers  and  commerce,  demand  that  the 
facilities  for  cheap  transportation  shall  be  increased  by  the 
use  of  all  our  great  water-courses. 

THE   CHINESE   QUESTION. 

The  material  interests  of  this  country,  the  traditions  of 
its  settlement,  and  the  sentiments  of  our  people  have  led 
the  Government  to  offer  the  widest  hospitality  to  immigrants 
who  seek  our  shores  for  new  and  happier  homes,  willing  to 
share  the  burdens  as  well  as  the  benefits  of  our  society,  and 
intending  that  their  posterity  shall  become  an  undistin- 
guishable  part  of  onr  population.  The  recent  movement  of 
the  Chinese  to  our  Pacific  coast,  partakes  but  little  of  the 
'  qualities  of  such  an  immigration,  either  in  its  purposes  or  its 
result.  It  is  too  much  like  an  importation  to  be  welcomed 
without  restriction ;  too  much  like  an  invasion  to  be  looked 
upon  without  solicitude.  We  cannot  consent  to  allow  any 
form  of  servile  labor  to  be  introduced  among  us  under  the 
guise  of  immigration.  Recognizing  the  gravity  of  this 
subject,  the  present  Administration,  supported  by  Congress, 
foas  sent  to  China  a  commission  of  distinguished  citizens 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  such  a  modification  of  the  exist 
ing  treaty  as  will  prevent  the  evils  likely  to  arise  from  the 


MISCELLANEOUS.  147 

present  situation.  It  is  confidently  believed  that  these  dip 
lomatic  negotiations  will  be  successful,  without  the  loss  ot 
commercial  intercourse  between  the  two  powers,  which 
promises  a  great  increase  of  reciprocal  trade  and  the  en 
largement  of  our  markets.  Should  these  efforts  fail,  it  will 
be  the  duty  of  Congress  to  mitigate  the  evils  already  felt, 
and  prevent  their  increase  by  such  restrictions  as,  without 
violence  or  injustice,  will  place  upon  a  sure  foundation  the 
peace  of  our  communities,  and  the  freedom  and  dignity  ot 
labor. 

THE    CIVIL    SERVICE. 

The  appointment  of  citizens  to  the  various  executive  and 
judicial  offices  of  the  Government  is  perhaps  the  most  diffi 
cult  of  all  the  duties  which  the  Constitution  has  imposed 
upon  the  Executive.  The  Constitution  wisely  demands 
that  Congress  shall  co-operate  with  the  executive  depart 
ments  in  placing  the  civil  service  on  a  better  basis.  Ex 
perience  has  proved  that  with  our  frequent  changes  of 
administration,  no  system  of  reform  can  be  made  effective 
and  permanent  without  the  aid  of  legislation.  Appoint 
ments  to  the  military  and  naval  service  are  so  regulated  by 
law  and  custom  as  to  leave  but  little  ground  of  complaint. 
It  may  not  be  wise  to  make  similar  regulations  by  law  for 
the  civil  service;  but,  without  invading  the  authority  or 
necessary  discretion  of  the  Executive,  Congress  should  de 
vise  a  method  that  will  determine  the  tenure  of  office  and 
greatly  reduce  the  uncertainty  which  makes  that  service  so 
uncertain  and  unsatisfactory.  Without  depriving  any  offi 
cer  of  his  rights  as  a  citizen,  the  Government  should  require 
him  to  discharge  all  his  official  duties  with  intelligence, 
efficiency  and  faithfulness.  To  select  wisely  from  our  vast 
population  those  who  are  best  fitted  for  the  many  offices  to 
be  filled,  requires  an  acquaintance  far  beyond  the  range  ot 
any  one  man.  The  Executive  should  therefore  seek  and 


148  STORIES  AND  SKETCHES  OF  QARF1ELD. 

receive  the  information  and  assistance  of  those  whose 
knowledge  of  the  communities  in  which  the  duties  are  to  be 
performed  best  qualifies  them  to  aid  them  in  making  the 
wisest  choice. 

THE    PLATFORM. 

The  doctrines  announced  by  the  Chicago  convention  are 
not  the  temporary  devices  of  a  party  to  attract  votes  and 
carry  an  election ;  they  are  deliberate  convictions  resulting 
from  a  careful  study  of  the  spirit  of  our  institutions,  the 
events  of  our  history,  and  the  best  impulses  of  our  people. 
In  my  judgment,  these  principles  should  control  the  legis 
lation  and  administration  of  the  Government.  In  any 
event,  they  will  guide  my  conduct  until  experience  points 
a  better  way.  If  elected,  it  will  be  my  purpose  to  enforce 
strict  obedience  to  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  and  to 
promote,  as  best  I  may,  the  interest  and  honor  of  the  whole 
country,  relying  for  support  upon  the  wisdom  of  Congress, 
the  intelligence  of  the  people,  and  the  favor  of  God.  With 
great  respect,  I  am,  very  truly  yours, 

JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 
To  the  Hon.  George  F.  Hoar,  Chairman  of  Committee. 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

[    A  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  the  Republican  Candidate  for  Vice-President 

Chester  Allan  Arthur  is  a  native  of  Yermont,  having 
ibeen  born  at  Fairfield,  Franklin  County,  October  15th,. 
11830. 

He  was  the  oldest  son  ol  the  Kev.  William  Arthur,  D.  D., 
a  Baptist  clergyman,  and  his  mother's  maiden  name  wa& 
Malvina  Stone.  His  father  was  a  native  of  the  north  of 
Ireland,  and  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  Belfast.  He- 
was  a  noted  scholar  and  author  of  several  books  on 
philology. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  fitted  for  college  mainly 
under  his  father's  instructions,  but  also  studied  at  Green 
wich,  Washington  County,  N.  Y.  He  entered  Union 
College,  and  graduated  therefrom  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
with  high  honors.  He  began  the  study  of  law  soon  after 
leaving  college,  in  the  office  of  the  Hon.  E.  IX  Culver,  a 
former  member  of  Congress  from  Pennsylvania.,  who  was 
prominent  in  the  anti-slavery  struggles  of  thirty  years  ago. 
Gen.  Arthur  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1853,  and  began 
practice  in  New  York. 

AB  a  young  man  he  early  took  great  interest  in  political 

150 


A  BRIEF  BIOGRAPHY.  Ml 

matters,  and  bore  an  active  part  in  the  Free-Soil  agitation. 
He  was  a  delegate  from  King's  County  (Brooklyn)  to  the 
first  Kepublican  State  Convention  held  in  New  York,  and 
gained  considerable  reputation  from  his  connection  with  the 
litigation  growing  out  of  slavery  and  the  rights  of  colored 
citizens. 

He  was  attorney  in  the  celebrated  Lemon  slave  case,  in 
which  William  M.  Evarts  acted  as  counsel,  with  Charles 
O'Conor  as  opposing  counsel  for  the  slaveholder,  Jonathan 
Lemon,  of  Virginia,  who,  on  his  way  to  Texas,  brought 
slaves  with  him  into  New  York.  This  case,  involving 
some  of  the  most  important  principles  of  personal  liberties 
and  the  comities  of  the  States,  was  in  the  courts  for  many 
yeais,  and  was  finally  decided  by  the  Court  of  Appeals 
against  the  slaveholder.  Gen.  Arthur  prepared  all  the 
papers  in  the  case  and  sued  out  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
by  which  the  case  got  into  court.  He  was  also  attorney  in 
the  case  involving  the  right  of  the  black  man  to  ride  in  the 
cars,  in  which  he  was  a^so  successful  in  the  Court  of  las  t 
resort. 

He  continued  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  with  good 
success  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  During  Gov. 
Morgan's  administration  he  was  for  the  first  two  years  of 
the  war  Inspector  and  Quartermaster-General  of  New 
York.  In  this  position  he  displayed  remarkable  organiz 
ing  capacity  in  placing  the  New  York  troops  in  the  field, 
and  gained  a  high  reputation  as  an  officer. 

Upon  Seymour's  election  as  Governor,  Gen.  Arthur  re 
turned  to  his  practice,  in  which  he  continued  until  his  ap 
pointment  as  Collector  of  the  port  of  New  York,  in  Novem 
ber,  1871.  This  appointment  came  to  him  unsolicited,  and 
was  an  entire  surprise.  He  discharged  the  duties  of  the 
place  with  signal  ability,  and  to  the  entire  acceptance  of 
the  commercial  public.  Business  men  of  all  parties  peti- 


152  CHESTER  A,  ARTHUR. 

tioned  for  his  retention  in  office,  and  lie  was  reappointed  in 
1875,  holding  the  position  until  his  removal  by  President 
Hayes  under  circumstances  with  which  the  public .  is 
familiar. 

He  is  a  portly,  middle-aged  gentleman,  with  gray  hairs 
and  pleasant  features,  social  and  amiable,  fond  of  a  good 
dinner,  and  at  home  is  agreeable  company;  quite  frequently 
seen  on  public  occasions  in  New  York,  and  very  active,  but 
never  obtrusive;  altogether  a  public-spirited  citizen  and 
typical  New  York  business  man;  rather  slow  of  speech,  but 
good  in  substance,  and  is  one  of  Gen.  Grant's  intimate 
friends  and  admirers. 

Mr.  Arthur  is  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profes 
sion.  He  has  two  children — a  son  of  14  and  a  daughter  of 
8  years  of  age.  He  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  devoted 
wife  last  January,  whose  death  was  sudden  and  unexpected. 
Mrs.  Arthur  was  a  daughter  of  the  late  Capt.  Herndon,  of 
the  United  States  Navy,  the  intrepid  explorer  of  the  river 
Amazon,  wrho  was  lost  at  sea  while  in  command  of  the 
steamship  Central  America  on  her  trip  between  Havana 
and  New  York  in  185T. 


M  ISC  ELL  A  NKOUS.  153 

G«n.  Arthur'!  Letter  of  Acceptance. 

Gen  Arthur  forwarded  to  Senator  Hoar,  Chairman  of  the 
Committee,  the  following  letter  of  acceptance: 

DEAK  SIR:  I  accept  the  position  assigned  me  by  the 
great  party  whose  action  you  announce.  This  acceptance 
implies  an  approval  of  the  principles  declared  by  the  Con 
vention,  but  recent  usage  permits  me  to  add  some  expres 
sion  of  my  own  views.  The  right  and  duty  to  secure 
honesty  and  order  in  popular  elections  is  a  matter  so  vital 
that  it  must  stand  in  the  front.  The  authority  of  the  Na 
tional  Government  to  preserve  from  fraud  and  force  elec 
tions,  at  which  its  own  officers  are  chosen,  is  a  chief  point 
on  which  the  two  parties  are  plainly  and  intensely  opposed. 
Acts  of  Congress  for  ten  years  have  in  New  York  and  else 
where  done  much  to  curb  the  violence  and  wrong  to  which 
the  ballot  and  count  have  been  again  and  again  subjected, 
sometimes  despoiling  great  cities,  sometimes  stifling  the 
voice  of  a  whole  State,  otten  placing  not  only  in  Congress, 
but  on  the  Bench  and  in  Legislatures,  numbers  of  men  never 
chosen  by  the  people. 

The  Democratic  party,  since  gaining  possession  ot  the  two 
Houses  of  Congress,  has  made  these  laws  the  object  of  bit 
ter,  ceaseless  assault,  and  despite  all  resistance  has  hedged 
them  with  restrictions  cunningly  contrived  to  baffle  and 
paralyze  them.  This  aggressive  majority  boldly  attempted 
to  extort  from  the  Executive  his  approval  of  various  enact 
ments  destructive  of  these  election  laws  by  revolutionary 
threats  that  a  constitutional  exercise  of  the  veto  power 
would  be  punished  by  withholding  appropriations  necessary 
to  carry  on  the  Government,  and  these  threats  were  actually 
carried  out  by  refusing  needed  appropriations  and  by  forc 
ing  an  extra  session  of  Congress,  lasting  for  months  and 
resulting  in  concessions  to  this  usurping  demand,  which  are 


154  CHESTER  A,  A  HTHVE. 

likely  in  many  States  to  subject  the  majority  to  the  lawless 
will  of  a  minority.  Ominous  signs  of  a  public  disapproval 
alone  subdued  this  arrogant  power  into  a  sullen  surrender 
for  the  time  being  of  a  part  of  its  demands. 

The  Republican  party  has  strongly  approved  the  stern 
refusal  of  its  representatives  to  suffer  the  overthrow  of 
statutes  believed  to  be  salutary  and  just.  It  has  always 
insisted,  and  now  insists,  that  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  of  America  is  empowered  and  in  duty  bound 
to  effectually  protect  the  elections  denoted  by  the  Constitu 
tion  as  National.  More  than  this,  the  Republican  party 
holds  as  the  cardinal  point  in  its  creed  that  the  Govern 
ment  should  by  every  means  known  to  the  Constitution 
protect  all  American  citizent  everywhere  in  the  full  enjoy 
ment  of  their  civil  and  political  rights.  As  a  great  part  of 
its  work  of  reconstruction,  the  Republican  party  gave  the 
ballot  to  the  emancipated  slave  as  his  right  and  defense.  A 
large  increase  in  the  number  of  members  ot  Congress  and 
of  the  Electoral  College  from  former  slave-holding  States 
was  the  immediate  result. 

The  history  of  recent  years  abounds  in  evidence  that  in 
many  ways  and  in  many  places,  especially  where  their 
number  has  been  great  enough  to  endanger  Democratic 
control,  the  very  men  by  whose  citizenship  this  increase  of 
representation  was  effected  have  been  debarred  and  robbed 
of  their  voice  and  their  vote.  It  is  true  that  no  State 
statute  or  Constitution  in  so  many  words  denies  or  abridges 
the  exercise  of  their  political  rights,  but  bodies  employed 
to  bar  their  way  are  no  less  effectual. 

It  is  a  suggestive  and  startling  thought  that  the  increased 
power  derived  from  the  enfranchisement  of  a  race  now 
denied  its  share  in  governing  the  country,  wielded  by  those 
who  lately  sought  the  overthrow  of  the  Government,  is  now 
tin;  solo  reliance  to  defeat  the  party  which  represented  the 


MISCELLANEOUS.  155 

sovereignty  and  nationality  of  the  American  people  in  the 
greatest  crisis  of  our  history.  Republicans  cherish  none 
of  the  resentments  which  may  have  animated  them  during 
the  actual  conflict  of  arms.  They  long  for  a  full  arid  real 
reconciliation  between  the  sections  which  were  needlessly 
and  lamentably  at  strife.  They  sincerely  offer  the  hand  of 
good  will,  but  they  ask  in  return  a  pledge  of  good  faith. 
They  deeply  feel  that  the  party  whose  career  is  so  illustrious 
in  great  and  patriotic"  achievements  will  not  fulfill  its  des 
tiny  until  peace  and  prosperity  are  established  in  all  the 
land,  nor  until  liberty  of  thought,  conscience,  and  action, 
and  equality  of  opportunity  shall  not  be  merely  cold  for 
malities  of  the  statute,  but  living  birthrights  wrhich  the 
humble  may  confidently  claim,  and  the  powerful  dare  not 
deny. 

CIVIL  SERVICE. 

The  resolution  referring  to  the  public  service  seems  to 
me  deserving  of  approval.  Surely  no  man  should  be  the 
incumbent  of  an  office  the  duties  of  which  he  is  for  a  cause 
unfit  to  perform,  who  is  lacking  in  ability,  fidelity,  or  in 
tegrity,  which  a  proper  administration  of  such  office  de 
mands.  This  sentiment  would  doubtless  meet  with  general 
acquiescence,  but  opinion  has  been  widely  divided  upon  the 
wisdom  and  practicability  of  various  reformatory  schemes 
which  have  been  suggested,  and  of  certain  proposed  regu 
lations  governing  appointments  to  public  office.  The  effi 
ciency  of  such  regulations  has  been  distrusted  mainly  be 
cause  they  have  seemed  to  exalt  mere  educational  and 
abstract  tests  above  general  business  capacity  and  even 
apeeial  fitness  for  the  particular  work  in  hand.  It  seems 
to  me  that  the  rules  which  should  be  applied  to  the  man 
agement  of  public  seraice  may  be  properly  conformed  in 
the  main  to  such  as  regulate  the  conduct  of  successful  pri 
vate  buisness.  Original  appointments  should  be  based 


156  CHESTER  A.  AR2HUR. 

upon  ascertained  fitness.  The  tenure  of  office  shonld  be 
stable.  Positions  of  responsibility  should,  so  far  as  practi 
cable,  be  filled  by  the  promotion  of  worthy  and  efficient 
officers.  The  investigation  of  all  complaints,  and  the  pun 
ishment  of  all  official  misconduct,  should  be  prompt,  and 
thorough. 

These  views,  which  I  have  long  held,  repeatedly  declared, 
and  uniformly  applied  when  called  upon  to  act,  I  find  em 
bodied  in  the  resolution,  which  of  course  I  approve.  I  will 
add  that  by  the  acceptance  of  public  office,  whether  high  or 
low,  one  does  not,  in  my  judgement,  escape  any  of  his  re 
sponsibility  as  a  citizen  or  lose  or  impair  any  of  his  rights 
as  a  citizen,  and  that  he  should  enjoy  absolute  liberty  to 
think,  and  speak,  and  act  in  political  matters  according  to 
his  own  will  and  conscience,  provided  only  that  he  honora 
bly,  faithfully,  and  fully  discharges  all  his  official  duties. 

FINANCE. 

The  resumption  of  specie-payments — one  of  the  fruits  of 
Republican  policy — has  brought  a  return  of  abundant  pros 
perity  and  the  settlement  of  many  distracting  questions. 
The  restoration  of  sound  money,  the  large  reduction  of  our 
public  debt  and  the  burden  of  interest,  the  high  advance 
ment  of  the  public  credit — all  attest  the  ability  and  courage 
of  the  Republican  party  to  deal  with  such  financial  prob 
lems  as  may  hereafter  demand  solution.  Our  paper  cur 
rency  is  now  as  good  as  gold,  and  silver  is  performing  its 
legitimate  function  for  the  purpose  of  change.  The  prin 
ciples  which  should  govern  the  relations  of  these  elements 
of  the  currency  are  simple  and  clear.  There  must  be  no 
deteriorated  coin,  no  depreciated  paper,  and  every  dollar, 
whether  of  metal  or  paper,  should  stand  the  test  of  the 
world's  standard. 

POPULAR  EDUCATION. 

The  value  of  popular  education  can  hardly  be  overstated. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  157 

Although  its  interests  must  of  necessity  be  chiefly  confided 
to  voluntary  effort  and  individual  action  of  the  several 
States,  they  should  be  encouraged  so  far  as  the  Constitution 
permits  by  the  generous  co-operation  of  the  National  Gov 
ernment.  The  interests  of  a  whole  country  demand  that 
the  advantages  of  our  common-school  system  should  be 
brought  -within  the  reach  of  every  citizen,  and  that  no  rev 
enues  of  the  Xation  or  the  State  should  be  devoted  to  the 
support  of  sectarian  schools. 

TARIFF  AND  INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS. 

Such  changes  should  be  made  in  the  present  tariff  and 
system  of  taxation  as  will  relieve  any  overburdened  industry 
or  class,  and  enable  our  manufacturers  and  artisans  to  com 
pete  successfully  with  those  of  other  lands. 

The  Government  should  aid  works  of  internal  improve 
ment,  national  in  their  character,  and  should  promote  the 
development  of  our  water-courses  and  harbors  wherever  the 
general  interests  of  commerce  require. 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

Four  years  ago,  as  now,  the  nation  stood  at  the  threshold 
os  a  Presidential  election,  and  the  Republican  party,  in 
soliciting  a  continuance  of  its  ascendency,  founded  its  hope 
of  success,  not  upon  its  promises,  but  upon  its  history.  Its 
subsequent  course  has  been  such  as  to  strengthen  the  claims 
which  it  then  made  to  the  confidence  and  support  of  the 
country.  On  the  other  hand,  considerations  more  urgent 
than  have  ever  before  existed  forbid  the  accession  of  its  op 
ponents  to  power.  Their  success,  if  success  attend  them, 
must  chiefly  come  from  the  united  support  of  that  section 
which  sought  the  forcible  destruction  of  the  Union,  and 
which,  according  to  all  the  teachings  of  our  past  history, 
will  demand  ascendency  in  the  councils  of  the  party  to 
whose  triumph  it  will  have  made  by  far  the  largest  con 
tribution. 


158  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

There  is  the  gravest  reason  for  the  apprehension  that  ex- 
orbiant  claims  upon  the  public  Treasury,  by  no  means 
limited  te  the  hundreds  of  millions  already  covered  by  bills 
introduced  in  Congress  within  the  past  four  years,  would  be 
successfully  urged  if  the  Democratic  party  should  succeed 
in  supplementing  its  present  control  of  the  National  Leg 
islature  by  electing  the  Executive  also. 

There  is  danger  in  intrusting  the  whole  law-making 
power  of  the  Government  to  a  party  which  has  in  almost 
every  Southern  State  repudiated  obligations  quite  as  sacred 
as  those  to  which  the  faith  of  the  Nation  now  stands  pledged. 

I  do  not  doubt  that  success  awaits  the  Republican  party, 
and  that  its  triumph  "will  assure  a  just,  economical,  and 
patriotic  administration.  I  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant,  C.  A.  ARTHUR. 

To  the  Hon.  George  F.  Hoar,  President  of  the  Republi 
can  National  Convention. 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

•    • 

OF 

PRESIDENTJAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


President  Garfield  delivered  the  following  inaugural 
addrsss  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  March  4th,  1881: 

FELLOW  CITIZEN:  We  stand  to-day  upon  an  eminence  which 
overlooks  a  hundred  years  of  National  life — a  century  crowded 
with  perils,  but  crowded  with  the  triumphs  of  liberty  and  love. 
Before  continuing  the  onward  march,  let  us  pause  on  this  height 
for  a  moment  to  strengthen  our  faith  and  renew  our  hope  by  a 
.glance  at  the  pathway  along  which  our  people  have  traveled. 

It  is  now  three  days  more  than  a  hundred  ytars  since  the  adop 
tion  of  the  first  written  Constitution  and  perpetual  union.  The 
new  Republic  was  then  beset  with  danger  on  every  hand.  It  had 
not  conquered  a  place  in  the  family  of  Nations.  The  decisive 
battle  of  the  War  for  Independence — whose  centennial  anniver 
sary  will  soon  be  gratefully  celebrated  at  Yorktown — had  not  yet 
been  fought.  The  Colonists  were  struggling  not  only  against  the 
armies  of  Great  Britain,  but  against  the  settled  opinion  of  man 
kind  ;  for  the  world  did  not  believe  that  the  supreme  authority  of 
the  Government  could  be  safely  intrusted  to  the  guardianship  of 
the  people  themselves. 

We  can  not  overestimate  the  fervent  love  or  the  intelligent 
courage,  having  the  common  sense  with  which  our  fathers  made 
the  great  experiment  of  self-government.  When  they  found, 
after  a  short  time,  that  a  confederacy  of  States  was  too  weak  to 
meet  the  necessities  of  the  glorious  and  expanding  Republic,  they 
boldly  set  it  aside,  and  in  its  stead  established  a  National  Union, 
founded  directly  upon  the  will  of  the  people,  endowed  with  future 
powers  of  self-preservation  and  with  ample  authority  for  the 
.accomplishment  of  its  great  objects.  Under  this  Constitution  the 
boundaries  of  freedom  enlarged,  the  foundations  of  order  and 
peace  have  been  strengthened,  and  growth  in  all  the  better  ele 
ments  of  national  life  has  vindicated  the  wisdom  of  the  founders, 
and  given  new  hope  to  their  descendants.  Under  this  Constitu 
tion  our  people  long  ago  made  themselves  safe  against  danger 

159 


160  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

from  without,  and  secured  for  their  mariners  and  flag  equality  of 
rights  on  all  the  seas.  Under  this  Constitution  twenty-five  State- 
houses  have  been  added  Jo  the  Union,  with  Constitutions  and 
laws  framed  and  enforced  oy  their  own  citizens  to  secure  the 
manifold  blessings  of  local  and  self-government.  IThe  jurisdic 
tions  of  this  Constitution  now  covers  an  area  fifty  times  greater 
than  that  of  the  original  thirteen  States,  and  a  population  twenty 
times  greater  than  that  of  1780. 

The  trial  of  that  Constitution  came  at  last  under  the  tremen 
dous  pressure  of  civil  war.  We  ourselves  are  witnesses  that  the 
Union  emerged  from  the  blood  and  fire  of  that  conflict  purified 
and  made  stronger  for  all  beneficent  purposes  of  good  government 
And  now,  at  the  close  of  this  first  century  of  growth,  with  the 
inspirations  of  its  history  in  their  hearts,  our  people  have  lately 
reviewed  the  condition  of  the  nation,  passed  judgment  upon  the 
conduct  and  opinions  of  political  parties,  and  have  registered 
their  will  concerning  the  future  administration  of  the  Govern 
ment.  To  interpret  and  to  execute  that  will  in  accordance  with 
the  Constitution  is  the  paramount  duty  of  the  Executive.  Even 
from  this  brief  review  it  is  manifest  that  the  nation  is  resolutely 
facing  to  the  front,  resolving  to  employ  its  best  energies  in  devel 
oping  the  great  possibilities  of  the  future,  sacredly  preserving 
whatever  lias  been  gained  to  liberty  and  good  government  during 
the  century.  Our  people  are  determined  to  leave  behind  them  all 
those  bitter  controversies  concerning  things  which  have  been 
irrevocably  settled,  further  discussion  of  which  can  only  stir  up 
strife  and  delay  the  onward  march. 

The  supremacy  of  the  nation  and  its  laws  should  be  no  longer 
a  subject  of  debate.  That  discussion,  which  for  half  a  century 
threatened  the  existence  of  the  Union,  was  closed  at  last  in  the 
high  court  of  war,  by  a  decree  from  which  there  is  no  appeal ;  that 
the  Constitution,  and  the  laws  made  hi  pursuance  thereof,  shall 
continue  to  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  binding  alike  on  the 
States  and  the  people.  This  decree  does  not  disturb  the  autonomy 
of  the  States,  nor  interfere  with  any  of  their  necessary  rules  of 
local  self-government;  but  it  does  fix  and  establish  the  permanent 
supremacy  of  the  Union.  The  will  of  the  nation,  speaking  with 
the  voice  of  battle  and  through  the  amended  Constitution,  has 
fulfilled  the  great  promise  of  177C,  by  proclaiming:  "Liberty 
throughout  the  land,  to  all  the  inhabitants  thereof." 

The  elevation  of  the  negro  race  from  slavery  to  the  full  rights 
of  citizenship  is  the  most  important  political  change  we  have 
known  since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  1776.  Ko 


OF  PRESIDENT  GARFIELD.  161 

thoughtful  man  can  fail  to  appreciate  its  beneficial  effect  upon 
our  people.  It  has  freed  us  from  the  perpetual  danger  of  war  and 
dissolution.  It  has  added  immensely  to  the  moral  and  industrial 
forces  ol  our  people.  It  has  liberated  the  master  as  well  as  the 
slave  from  a  relation  which  wronged  and  enfeebled  both.  It  has 
surrendered  to  their  own  guardianship  the  manhood  of  more  than 
five  million  people,  and  has  opened  to  each  one  of  them  a  career 
of  freedom  and  usefulness.  It  has  given  new  inspiration  to  the 
[lower  of  self-help  in  I  oth  races,  by  making  labor  more  honorable 
to  the  one  and  more  necessary  to  the  other.  The  influence  of  this 
force  will  grow  greater  and  bear  richer  fruit  with  coming  years~ 
No  doubt  the  great  change  has  caused  serious  disturbance  to- 
our  Southern  community.  This  is  to  be  deplored ;  but  those  who- 
resisted  the  change  should  remember  that  in  our  institutions- 
there  was  no  middle  ground  for  the  negro  between  slavery  and 
equal  citizenship.  There  can  be  no  permanent  disfranchised* 
peasantry  in  the  United  States.  Freedom  can  never  yield  its  full* 
ness  of  blessing  so  long  as  the  law  or  its  administration  places  the 
smallest  obstacle  in  the  pathway  of  any  virtuous  citizenship.  The 
emancipated  race  has  already  made  remarkable  progress.  With 
unquestionable  devotion  to  the  Union,  with  a  patience  and  gentle 
ness  not  born  of  fear,  they  have  "  followed  the  light  as  God  gave 
them  to  see  the  light."  They  are  rapidly  laying  the  material 
foundations  of  self-support,  widening  the  circle  of  intelligence, 
and  beginning  to  enjoy  the  blessings  that  gather  around  the 
homes  of  the  industrious  poor.  They  deserve  the  generous  en 
couragement  of  all  good  men.  So  far  as  my  authority  can  law 
fully  extend,  they  shall  enjoy  the  full  and  equal  protection  of  fete 
Constitution  and  laws. 

The  free  enjoyment  of  equal  suffrage  is  still  in  question,  and  a 
frank  statement  of  the  issue  may  aid  its  solution.  It  ia  alleged 
that  in  many  communities  negro  citizens  are  practically  denied 
the  freedom  of  the  ballot.  In  so  far  as  the  truth  of  this  allegation 
is  admitted,  it  is  answered  that  in  many  places  honest  local  gov 
ernment  is  impossible  if  a  mass  of  uneducated  negrovt*  art;  allowed 
to  vote.  These  are  ^ravo  allegations.  So  far  as  the  latter  is  true,, 
it  is  no  palliation  that  can  be  offered  for  opposing  freedom  of  the- 
ballot.  Bad  local  government  is  certainly  a  great  evil,  which 
ought  to  be  prevented ;  but  to  violate  the  freedom  and  sanctity  of' 
suffrage  is  more  than  an  evil — it  is  a  crime  which,  if  persisted  in,, 
will  destroy  the  Government  itselr.  Suicide  is  not  a  rtmfdy.  If 
in  other  lands  it  be  high  treason  to  compass  tbe  death  of  a  Kmg^ 
it  should  be  counted  no  loss  a  crime  here  to  strangle  our  sovereign? 
power  aM<!  stiflfl  its  voi<-<».  11 


162  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

It  has  been  said  that  unsettled  questions  have  no  pity  for  the 
repose  of  nations.  It  should  be  said,  with  the  utmost  emphasis, 
that  this  question  of  suffrage  will  never  give  repose  or  safety  to 
the  States  or  to  the  nation  until  each,  within  its  own  jurisdiction, 
makes  and  keeps  the  ballot  free  and  pure  by  the  strong  sanctions 
of  law.  But  the  danger  which  arises  from  ignorance  in  the  voter 
can  not  be  denied.  It  covers  a  field  far  wider  than  that  of  negro 
suffrage,  and  the  present  condition  of  that  race.  It  is  a  danger 
that  lurks  and  hides  in  the  sources  and  fountain  of  power  in  any 
State.  We  have  no  standard  by  which  to  measure  the  disaster 
that  may  be  brought  upon  us  by  ignorance  and  vice  in  citizens, 
when  joined  to  corruption  and  fraud  in  the  suffrage.  The  voters 
of  the  Union,  who  make  and  unmake  Constitutions,  and  upon 
whoso  will  hangs  the  destiny  of  our  Governments,  can  transmit 
their  supreme  authority  to  no  successor  save  the  coming  genera 
tion  of  voters,  who  are  the  sole  heirs  of  sovereign  power.  If  that 
generation  comes  to  its  inheritance  blinded  by  ignorance  and  cor 
rupted  by  vice,  the  fall  of  the  Republic  will  be  certain  and  reme 
diless. 

The  census  has  already  sounded  the  alarm  in  appalling  figures, 
which  mark  how  dangerously  high  the  tide  of  illiteracy  has 
arisen  among  our  voters  and  their  children.  To  the  South  the 
question  is  of  supreme  importance;  but  the  responsibility  for  the 
existence  of  slavery  does  not  rest  upon  the  South  alone.  The 
nation  itself  is  responsible  for  the  extension  of  suffrage,  and  is 
under  special  obligations  to  aid  in  removing  the  illiteracy  which 
ii  has  added  to  the  voting  population.  For  North  and  South 
alike  there  is  but  one  remedy:  All  the  constitutional  powers  of 
the  nation  and  of  the  States,  and  all  the  volunteer  forces  of  the 
people  should  be  summoned  to  meet  this  danger  by  the  saving  in 
fluence  of  universal  education.  It  is  the  high  privilege  and  the 
sacred  duty  of  those  now  living  to  educate  their  successors,  and  fit 
them  by  intelligence  and  virtue  for  the  inheritance  which  awaits 
them.  In  this  beneficent  work  sections  and  races  should  be  for 
gotten,  and  partisanship  should  be  unknown.  Let  our  people 
find  a  new  meaning  in  the  Divine  Oracle  which  declares  that  "A 
little  child  shall  lead  them,"  for  our  little  children  will  soon  con 
trol  the  destinies  of  the  Republic. 

My  countrymen,  we  do  not  now  differ  in  our  judgment  con 
cerning  the  controversies  of  the  past  generations,  and  fifty  years 
hence  our  children  will  not  be  divided  in  their  opinions  concern 
ing  our  controversies.  They  will  surely  bless  their  fathers  and 
their  fathers'  God  that  the  Union  was  preserved,  that  slavery 


OF  PRESIDENT  GARFIELD  16? 

was  overthrown,  and  that  both  races  were  made  equal  before  the 
law.  We  may  hasten  or  we  may  retard,  but  we  can  not  prevent 
the  final  reconciliation.  Is  it  not  possible  for  us  now  to  make  a 
truce  with  them  by  anticipating  and  accepting  its  inevitable 
verdict?  Enterprises  of  the  highest  importance  to  our  moral  and 
material  well-being  invite  us,  and  offer  ample  powers.  Let  all 
our  people,  leaving  behind  them  the  battle  fields  of  dead  issues, 
move  forward,  and  in  the  strength  of  liberty  and  restored  Union 
win  the  grandest  victories  of  peace. 

The  prosperity  which  now  prevails  is  without  parallel  in  our 
history.  Fruitful  seasons  have  done  much  to  secure  it,  but  they 
have  not  clone  all.  The  preservation  of  the  public  credit  and  the 
resumption  of  specie  payments,  so  successfully  obtained  by  the 
Administration  of  my  predecessors,  has  enabled  our  people  to 
secure  the  blessings  which  the  seasons  brought.  By  the  experi 
ence  of  commercial  Nations  in  all  ages  it  has  been  found  that 
gold  and  silver  afforded  the  only  safe  foundation  for  a  monetary 
system.  Confusion  has  recently  been  created  by  variations  in  the 
relative  value  of  the  two  metals;  but  I  confidently  believe  that 
arrangements  can  be  made  between  the  leading  commercial 
Nations  which  will  secure  the  general  use  of  both  metals.  Con 
gress  should  provide  that  the  compulsory  coinage  of  silver,  now 
required  by  law,  may  not  disturb  our  monetary  system  by  driving 
either  metal  out  of  circulation.  If  possible,  such  adjustment 
should  be  made  that  the  purchasing  power  of  every  coined  dollar 
will  be  exactly  equal  to  its  debt-paying  power  in  all  the  markets 
•of  the  world.  The  chief  duty  of  the  National  Government  in  con 
nection  with  the  currency  of  the  country  is  to  coin  and  to  declare 
its  value. 

Grave  doubts  have  been  entertained  whether  Congress  is  au 
thorized  by  the  Constitution  to  make  any  form  of  paper  money  legal 
tender.  The  present  issue  of  United  States  notes  has  been  sus 
tained  by  the  necessities  of  war ;  butsuch  paper  should  depend  for 
its  value  and  currency  upon  its  convenience  in  use  and  its  prompt 
redemption  in  coin  at  the  will  of  the  holder,  and  not  upon  its 
compulsory  circulation.  These  notes  are  not  money,  but  promises 
to  pay  money.  If  the  holders  demand  it,  the  promises  should  be 
kept.  The  refunding  of  the  National  debt  at  a  lower  rate  of  in 
terest  should  be  accomplished  without  compellingthe  withdrawal 
of  National  Bank  notes,  and  thus  disturbing  the  business  of  the 
country.  I  venture  to  refer  to  the  position  I  have  occupied  on  the 
finance  question  during  a  long  service  in  Congress,  and  to  say  that 
time  and  experience  have  strengthened  the  opinions  1  have  so 


164  AY  A  UGURAL  ADDRESS 

often  expressed  on  these  subjects.  The  finances  of  the  Govern 
ment  shall  suffer  no  detriment  which  it  may  be  possible  lor  my 
Administration  to  prevent. 

The  interests  of  agriculture  deceive  more  attention  from  the 
Government  than  they  have  yet  received.  The  farms  oi'  the 
United  States  afford  homes  and  employment  for  more  than  one- 
half  of  our  people,  and  furnish  much  the  largest  part  of  all  our 
exports.  As  the  Government  lights  our  coasts  for  the  protection 
of  mariners  and  the  benetit  of  commerce,  so  it  should  give  to  the 
tillers  of  the  soil  the  lights  of  practical  science  and  experience. 
Our  manufacturers  are  rapidly  a, aking  us  industrially  independ 
ent,  and  are  opening  to  capital  and  labor  new  and  profitable  fields- 
of  employment.  This  steady  and  health}  growth  should  still  be 
maintained.  Our  facilities  for  transportation  should  be  promoted 
by  the  continued  improvement  of  our  harbors  and  great  water 
ways,  and  by  the  increase  of  our  tonnage  on  the  ocean. 

The  development  of  the  world's  commerce  has  led  to  urgent  de 
mands  for  shortening  the  great  sea  voyage  aro.und  Cape  Horn  by 
constructing  ship  canals  or  railroads  across  the  isthmus  which 
unites  the  two  continents.  Various  plans  to  this  end  have 
been  suggested,  and  will  need  consideration ;  but  none  of  them 
have  been  sufficiently  matured  to  warrant  the  United  States  in 
extending  pecuniary  aid.  The  subject  is  one  which  will  imme 
diately  engage  the  attention  of  the  Government,  with  a  view  to 
thorough  protection  to  American  interests.  We  will  urgesno  nar 
row  policy,  nor  seek  peculiar  or  exclusive  privileges  in  any  com 
mercial  route;  but,  in  the  language  of  ray  predecessors,  I  believe 
it  to  be  "  the  right  and  duty  of  the  United  States  to  assert  and 
maintain  such  supervision  and  authority  over  any  inter-oceanic 
canal  across  the  isthmus  that  connects  North  and  South  Araerica. 
as  will  protect  our  National  interests." 

The  Constitution  guarantees  absolute  religious  freedom.  Con 
gress  is  prohibited  from  making  any  laws  respecting  th<>  estab 
lishment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof.  The 
Territories  of  the  United  States  are  subject  to  the  direct  le^'siar- 
tive  authority  of  Congress,  and  hence  the  General  Government  is 
responsible  for  any  violation  of  the  Constitution  in  any  of  th'.-m. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  reproaca  to  the  Government  that  iu  the  most- 
populous  of  the  Territories  the  Constitutional  guarantee  is  not 
enjoyed  by  the  people,  and  the  authority  of  Congress  is  set  at 
naught.  The  Mormon  Church  not  only  offends  the,  moral  sense  or 
mankind  by  sanctioning  polygamy,  but  prevents  the  administra 
tion  of  justice  through  the  ordinary  instrumentalities  oi  law.  In, 


Oi'"  rUKXlDENT  GARFIELD.  166 

ill}'  judgment,  it  is  the  duty  of  Congress,  \vhile  respecting  to  the 
uttermost  the  conscientious  convictions  and  religious  scruples  of 
every  citizen,  to  prohibit  within  its  jurisdiction  all  criminal  prac 
tices,  especially  of  that  class  which  destroy  the  family  relation 
mid  endanger  social  order.  Nor  can  any  ecclesiastical  organiza 
tion  be  safely  permitted  to  usurp  in  the  smallest  degree  the  func' 
tions  and  powers  of  the  National  Government. 

The  Civil  Service  can  never  be  placed  on  a  satisfactory  basis 
until  it  is  legulatod  by  law  for  the  good  of  the  service  itself,  for 
the  protection  of  those  who  are  intrusted  with  the  appointing 
power  against  the  waste  of  time  and  the  obstruction  of  public 
business  caused  by  the  inordinate  pressure  for  place,  and  for  the 
protection  of  incumbents  against  intrigue  and  wrong.  I  shall  at 
Uie'nroper  time  ask  Congress  to  fix  the  tenure  of  minor  offices  of 
tho  several  executive  departments,  and  prescribe  the  grounds 
uvKjn  v,  hi(  h  removals  shall  bvi  made  during  the  terms  for  which 
incumbents  have  been  appointed. 

Finally,  acting  always  within  the  authority  and  the  limitations 
of  the  Constitution,  invading  neither  the  rights  of  the  States  nor 
the  reserved  rights  of  the  people,  it  will  be  the  purpose  of  my 
Administration  to  maintain  authority,  and  in  all  places  within 
its  jurisdiction  to  enforce  obedience  to  all  laws  of  the  Union  and 
in  the  interests  of  the  people;  to  demand  rigid  economy  in  all 
expendif ures  of  the  Government,  and  to  require  honest  and  faith- 
mi  service  of  all  executive  officers— remembering  that  offices  were 
created,  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  incumbents  or  their  supporters, 
but  for  the  service  of  the  Government. 

And  now,  fellow-citizens.  I  am  about  to  assume  the  great  trust 
which  you  have  committed  to  my  hands.  I  appeal  to  you  for  that 
earnest  and  thoughtful  support  wrhich  makes  this  Government, 
in  liiet,  as  it  is  in  law.  a  Government  of  the  people.  I  shall  greatly 
rely  upon  the  wisdom  and  patriotism  of  Congress,  and  of  those 
w?ho  may  share  with  me  the  responsibilities  .and  duties  of  the 
Administration;  and  upon  our  efforts  to  promote  the  welfare  of 
this  *;reat  people  and  their  Government,  I  reverently  invoke  the 
supv*>rt  and  blessings  of  Almighty  God.  • 


ASSASSINATION 

-OF- 

PRESIDENT   GARFIELD- 


Full  Particulars  of  the  Terrible  Event. 

It  was  on  Saturday  morning,  July  2,  1881,  at  9:28,  in 
the  Baltimore  &  Potomac  depot  at  Washington,  D.  C., 
that  occurred  the  tragic  attempt  to  assassinate  President 
Garfield.  It  was  the  President's  intention  that  morning 
to  have  started  for  Long  Branch,  where  he  expected  to 
meet  Mrs.  Garfield  and  spend  a  season  of  pleasant  recrea 
tion.  The  day  opened  with  refreshing  breezes,  and  it  is 
said  the  President  was  never  more  happy ;  but  alas !  ere  its 
sun  had  set,  the  whole  nation  and  civilized  world  were 
stricken  with  unspeakable  sadness  at  what  was  believed  to 
be  the  momentary  death  of  one  of  God's  noblest  of  men, 
James  A.  Garfield. 

An  eye  witness  of  the  terrible  tragedy  says:  "I  was 
coining  down  Pennsylvania  avenue  when  I  saw  a  carriage 
coining  up  the  avenue,  the  horses  running  so  fast  that  I 
thought  they  were  running  away.  Just  as  the  carriage 
arrived  in  front  of  me  a  man  put  his  head  out  of  the  win 
dow  and  said,  '  Faster,  faster,  faster,  damn  it!'  After  hear 
ing  this  remark  I  thought  there  was  something  wrong,  and 
ran  after  the  carriage.  When  it  reached  the  depot  a  man 
jumped  out  and  entered  the  ladies'  room.  He  had  not  been 
there  more  than  three  minutes  when  the  President  arrived^ 
stepped  out  of  his  carriage,  and  also  entered  the  ladies* 


OF  PRESIDENT  GARFIELD.  167 

room.  The  President,  after  passing  through  the  door,  was 
just  turning  the  corner  of  a  Beat  when  the  assassin,  who 
was  standing  on  the  left  of  the  door,  fired.  The  ball  struck 
the  President  in  the  back.  The  President  fell  forward. 
I  ran  into  the  depot,  and  just  then  the  man  fired  again 
while  the  President  was  falling.  The  moment  the  Presi 
dent  fell  a  policeman,  who  had  been  standing  at  the  depot 
door  keeping  the  way  clear  for  the  President  and  his  party,' 
grabbed  the  assassin  by  the  neck,  and,  as  he  pulled  him  out 
of  the  depot,  another  policeman  came  to  his  assistance. 
Just  after  firing  the  shot  the  assassin  exclaimed,  '  I've 
killed  Garfield!  Arthur  is  President.  I  am  a  stalwart!'" 

The  first  person  to  reach  the  President  after  he  had  fal 
len  upon  the  floor,  was  Mrs.  Sarah  B.  White,  a  lady  in 
charge  of  the  ladies'  waiting  room,  who  saw  him  enter  and 
saw  the  would  be  assassin  raise  his  hand  and  fire.  She 
raised  up  the  head  of  the  stricken  man  and  he  was  soon 
placed  upon  a  mattress  and  borne  to  an  upper  room  of  the 
depot  building. 

Gen.  Garfield,  as  he  lay  upon  his  mattress  in  the  upper 
room,  is  said  by  those  who  were  about  him  to  have  been 
brave  and  cheerful.  His  first  impulse  was  to  have  his  wife 
informed,  and  he  dictated  a  dispatch  to  Col.  Rockwell,  in 
which  he  informed  her  that  he  had  been  wounded,  ho..* 
seriously  no  one  could  tell;  that  he  desired  her  to  come 
immediately.  He  was  conscious  and  sent  his  love.  At  the 
same  time  another  dispatch  was  sent  to  Maj.  Swaim,  Judge 
Advocate-General,  who  had  charge  of  Mrs.  Garfield,  in 
forming  him  of  the  nature  of  the  shooting,  and  directed 
him  to  keep  the  information  from  Mrs.  Garfield.  While 
this  was  being  done,  the  carriage  of  one  of  the  Cabinet 
officers  who  was  present  was  driven  with  great  speed  to  the 
office  of  Dr.  Bliss,  on  F  street,  who,  with  his  instrument- 
case,  was  hastily  driven  to  the  depot,  and  was  the  first  of 


168  AXSAMINA  T10N 

the  physicians  to  arrive.  He  instantly  pronounced  the 
wound  a  dangerous  one,  but  not  necessarily  fatal.  After 
wards  he  said  it  was  a  wound  of  exceedingly  severe  char 
acter,  and  all  the  physicians  concurred  with  him.  Garfield 
manfully  and  cheerfully  talked  with  his  friends,  among 
whom  was  Col.  Robert  Ingersoll,  to  whom  he  cordially  ex 
tended  his  hand  and  said,  "  I  am  glad  you  came." 

It  was  then  found,  upon  examination,  that  both  shots 
fired  by  the  assassin  had  taken  effect.  The  first  was  well 
aimed.  It  had  entered  the  back,  just  above  the  kidney, 
and  had  perforated  the  liver.  The  second  shot  was  tired 
while  the  President  was  falling,  and  went  under  the  left 
arm,  barely  grazing  the  skin. 

It  was  evidently  Guiteau's  purpose  to  shoot  Garfield  sev 
eral  times,  for  in  the  confession  which  he  left  sealed,  he 
says  that  he  shot  the  President  several  times. 

The  surgeons,  of  whom  a  dozen  had  arrived,  agreed  that 
the  President  should  be  ta"ken  to  the  White  House  as 
speedily  as  possible  before  his  strength  should  fail.  Gen. 
Sherman,  who  had  also  come,  had  already  provided  an  am 
bulance,  and  Secretary  of  War  Robert  Lincoln,  with  re 
markable  sagacity,  had  ordered  a  company  of  troops  from 
the  arsenal  to  help  preserve  order.  A  large  squad  of 
mounted  police  had  been  summoned.  They  cleared  the 
way  for  the  ambulance,  riding  up  the  avenno  at,  a,  furious 
gallop.  The  ambulance  containing  the  President  was 
driven  at  great  speed,  to  avoid  a  possible  crowd.  It  en 
tered  the  White  House  grounds  at  the  lower  gate,  the 
President  reclining  upon  the  mattress.  As  he  was  lifted 
out  he  saw,  at  a  window,  his  private  secretary  and  a  num 
ber  of  friends  who  were  at  the  White  House  looking  out, 
who  had  already  been  notified  by  telephone  from  the  depot, 
of  the  attempted  assassination.  The  President,  raising  his 
head  from  his  improvised  litter,  waived  his  hand  in  greet- 


OF  PRESIDENT  GARFIELD.  100 

ing  to  those  who  were  so  anxiously  watching  his  arrival. 
He  showed,  even  in  this  supreme  moment,  the  same  tender 
consideration  for  those  around  him  which  has  always  char 
acterized  his  private  and  public  career.  He  was  imme 
diately  brought  into  the  house  by  the  lower  entrance,  and 
carried  to  the  room  occupied  by  the  President,  in  the  south 
west  corner  of  the  second  floor;  there  his  clothes,  which 
were  veiy  much  soiled  with  blood,  were  removed,  and  he 
was  placed  upon  his  bed.  Those  who  saw  him  say  that 
the  trace  of  the  bullet  was  very  plainly  visible  in  a  murder 
ous  looking  hole  above  the  hip. 

Preparations  were  immediately  taken  to  preserve  quiet 
and  order.  The  large  force  of  police  cleared  the  White 
House  grounds  and  barred  the  gates.  Accompany  of  artil 
lerymen  arrived,  and  were  ordered  to  camp  in  the  ground, 
and  to  guard  them.  The  gates  were  closed  to  carriages, 
and  no  persons  were  .allowed  to  enter  the  grounds  of  the 
Executive  Mansion  without  passes  from  the  private  secre 
tary  of  the  President,  which  were  granted  to  every  person 
having  any  reason  except  that  of  idle  curiosity  to  be  there. 
Every  member  of  the  Cabinet  followed  the  President  to  the 
White  House,  and  the  ladies  of  the  Cabinet  officers  per 
formed  the  tender  womanly  offices,  in  the  absence  of  the 
wife  who  was  approaching  the  National  Capital  with  all 
the  speed  that  steam  can  give.  Officials  of  all  grades  and 
prominent  persons  in  the  city  assembled  in  the  White 
House  ante-room,  some  of  them  being  even  permitted  to 
enter  the  President's  chamber.  It  was  thought  that  the 
wound  might  be  probed  immediately  after  the  President 
Lad  been  brought  back  to  the  White  House,  but  this  was 
not  deemed  safe.  There  were  many  indications  of  internal 
hemorrhage.  The  temperature  increased  rapidly  and  the 
pulse  was  greatly  quickened.  Soon  after  the  return  from  the 
depot  there  wag  great  hope  that  the  bullet  might  not  prove 


170  ASSASSINATION 

fatal,  but  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  physicians  de 
clined  to  make  a  search  for  it,  and  postponed  any  further 
examination  until  3  p.  m.,  it  became  apparent  that  the  Pres 
ident  was  too  weak  to  submit  to  the  operation,  and  the  hopes- 
of  recovery  rested  first  in  the  location  of  the'  bullet  and  next 
in  a  strong  constitution.  Meanwhile  everything  was  done 
to  relieve  the  sufferer  His  head  was  clear  and  he  was  very 
comfortable,  complaining  of  nothing  except  of  pain  and 
twitching  in  liis  feet,  which  the  surgeons  said  was  not  a  good 
symptom. 

Soon  after  he  had  been  placed  upon  the  bed  Mr.  Elaine 
came  in.  He  had  stopped  in  the  ante-room  long  enough  to 
write  in  his  own  hand  dispatches  to  Minister  Lowell  at  Lon 
don,  and  to  the  principal  diplomatic  representatives  abroad, 
stating  that  the  President  had  been  shot.  "  I  never  saw,' 
said  Postmaster-General  James  afterwards,  "  a  man  of  such 
extraordinary  nerve  as  Mr  Elaine.  He  stood  beside  the 
President  wrhen  he  was  shot,  and  he  was  the  only  man  in 
all  that  depot-building  who  was  not  almost  paralyzed  with 
terror.  He  stood  calm  and  collected  in  the  midst  of  that 
surging,  panic-stricken  crowd,  and  gave  his  orders  as  coolly 
as  if  he  had  been  commanding  a  battle,  and  he  was  withiiji 
a  few  inches  of  the  assassin's  bullet  himself."  "  I  never 
thought  of  myself  at  all  at  the  time,"  said  Mr.  Elaine  after 
wards.  "  I  only  thought  of  our  poor,  dear  President." 
When  Elaine  entered  the  President's  chamber,  the  President 
hardly  turned.  Throughout  the  entire  day  he  always  tried 
to  turn  whenever  a  friend  entered  the  room,  and  extended 
his  hand  to  him.  The  Secretary  of  State  approached  the  bed 
side  of  the  rapidly  sinking  man,  when  the  President  placed 
his  arm  about  him,  as  nearly  as  he  could,  and  said:  "Howl 
love  you !"  It  was  not  until  then  that  Elavne,  the  strong  man 
broke  down.  The  eyes  that  had  refused  to  fill  during  the 
intense  excitement  of  the  preceding  hour  were  suffused 
with  tears,  and  the  voice  was  choked  when  the  great  man 


OF  PRESIDENT  QAUFIELD.  171 

stricken  down  embraced  him  afnd  said:  "How  I  love  you!" 
<;  It  was  a  moment "  said  Mr.  Blaine,  "  that  I  never  shall 
forget  in  all  my  life."  The  Secretary  of  State  soon  retired, 
for  he  did  not  wish  to  excite  the  wounded  man  by  an  exhibi 
tion  of  emotion. 

The  afternoon  was  spent  in  the  White  House  in  an  agony 
of  suspense.  The  entire  Cabinet  remained  there  all  the 
time.  The  physicians  were  in  constant  consultation.  There 
were  some  hypodermic  injections,  after  which  it  was  noticed 
that  the  President  vomited,  a  circumstance  said  to  be  ex 
plained  by  the  fact,  subsequently  discovered,  that  the  ball 
had  perforated  his  liver.  For  nourishment  he  was  given 
champagne  and  ice. 

The  President  talked  all  the  evening  as  much  as  they 
would  allow  him  to  talk.  Mrs.  Secretary  Blaine,  Mrs* 
Attorney-General  MacYeagh,  Mrs.  Postmaster-General 
James,  and  Mrs.  Secretary  of  War  Lincoln,  were  in  constant 
attendance,  and  the  Cabinet  officers  occasionally  went  in  to 
see  the  President.  To  one  of  the  ladies  of  the  Cabinet  the 
President  said: 

"What  do  you  suppose  he  wanted  to  shoot  me  for?" 

She  answered  that  it  was  charitable  to  suppose  he  was  a 
crazy  and  disappointed  office-seeker. 

The  President  said,  quoting  "  Penzance  "  and  cheerfully 
smiling,  "  I  expect  that  he  supposed  that  '  it  was  a  glorious 
thing  to  be  a  pirate  King.'  ' 

The  President  told  Col.  Rockwell,  soon  after  the  shoot 
ing,  that  he  feaied  that  the  shot  was  fatal,  and  that  he  was 
prepared  for  the  worst.  During  the  afternoon  he  referred 
very  seldom  to  his  condition.  His  greatest  anxiety  was  to 
see  his  wife.  As  often  as  every  fifteen  minutes  he  would 
turn  to  his  attendants  and  ask  how  soon  they  expected  her 
to  arrive.  Bulletins  from  the  rapidly-approaching  train 
were  received  at  least  every,  half  hour.  The  tracks  had 


ASSASSINATION 


been  cleared,  and  the  operators  at  every  station  along  the 
road  had  been  instructed  to  telegraph  directly  to  the  White 
II  '.ise  operator  at  Washington  the  progress  of  the  train. 
When  it  was  learned  that  Mrs.  Garfield  could  not,  at  best, 
arrive  before  7  o'clock, and  to  do  that  it  would  be  necessary 
to  cover  the  distance  between  there  and  Philadelphia  in 
three  hours,  the  President  was  disappointed.  The  moments 
seemed  to  hang  heavily  with  him  after  5  o'clock  p.  m.,  as 
at  that  hour,  he  had  learned  definitely  that  the  physicians 
did  not  think  that  he  had  much  chance  to  recover.  The 
President,  at  his  own  earnest  request,  was  informed  of  this 
fact  by  Dr.  Bliss.  The  President  said: 

"  I  am  not  afraid  to  die.  I  want  to  know  what  you  think 
of  my  condition.  Tell  me  the  worst." 

The  doctor  replied  that  his  condition  was  very  serious, 
but  he  had  some  chances  of  life,  but  that  he  would  do  well 
to  prepare  for  the  worst. 

One  of  the  ladies  of  the  Cabinet  afterwards  cheerfully 
said  to  the  President,  "  We  expect  to  pull  you  through, 
Mr.  President" 

Gen.  Garfield  answered,  "And  I  am  going  to  try  to  help 
you  pull  me  through."  lie  never  lost  his  spirits,'not  even 
when  the  doctor  informed  him  that  he,  perhaps,  had  not 
many  hours  to  live.  He  said:  "Then  God's  will  be  done; 
1  am  content;"  but  from  the  moment  that  he  learned  that 
ho  might  not  live,  his  thoughts  turned  more  anxiously  to 
the  arrival  of  his  wife. 

During  the  afternoon  the  Cabinet  officer's  seriously  dis 
cussed  the  situation.  It  was  noticeable  that  their  thoughts 
were  turned  chiefly  to  the  sufferer,  and  very  little  to  the 
political  results  which  might  follow  from  the  death  of  the 
President. 

Mr.  Kirkwood  sat  silently  much  of  the  time,  smoking  in 
the  ante-room.  He  was  very  calm  and  sad.  Secretary 


OF  PRESIDENT  GARFIELD.  173 

Elaine  did  not  leave  the  room  except  to  take  a  lunch,  arid 
he  conversed  freely  about  the  occurrence,  and  paid  an  elo 
quent  tribute  to  the  great  qualities  of  his  chief.  Ho  was 
very  calm.  His  greatest  regret  seemed  to  be  for  the  fam 
ily  of  the  President  and  for  the  country.  Postmaster-Gen 
eral  James  was  especially  affected.  He  was  frequently 
heard  to  say,  "God  save  the  poor  country!" 

Robert  Lincoln,  painfully  reminded  of  the  tragic  death 
of  his  own  father,  in  the  same  position,  said,  in  the  Cabinet 
Council  chamber,  while  sitting  beneath  that  statue  of  his 
father  which  looked  down  upon  him,  to  a  colleague  in  the 
Cabinet  and  some  friends:  "It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the 
President  has  lately  talked  a  great  deal  about  my  father. 
At  a  dinner  the  other  day,  to  which  a  number  of  us  were 
invited,  his  conversation  was  full  of  story-telling.  He  nar 
rated,  among  other  things,  his  experiences  at  the  time  of 
the  assassination  in  New  York,  and  said  he  strolled  out  of 
his  room  and  almost  unconsciously  attended  the  meeting 
which  was  called  in  Wall  street,  and  made  that  remarkable 
speech  which  had  such  an  effect  in  quieting  the  mob." 

Mrs.  Garfield's  meeting  with  her  husband  on  her  arrival 

O 

from  Long  Branch,  is  described  as  an  affecting  scene. 

Attorney-General  MacVeagh  and  Mrs.  James  went  to 
the  door  to  meet  her  as  the  carriage  drove  up  at  the  south 
entrance. 

Ck  How  is  he?  "  she  said,  as  she  placed  her  hands  in  those 
of  Mrs.  James. 

"  We  think  he  is  greatly  improved,"  said  the  Attorney- 
General. 

Mrs.  Garfield  walked  quickly  up  the  stairs  along  which 
her  husband  had  been  borne,  faint  and  bleeding,  and  she 
was  directed  to  the  room  where  he  was  lying.  The  door 
was  thrown  open  and  she  entered.  The  President  opened 
his  ey*:s  and  saw  who  it  was.  Mrs.  Garfield  knelt  by  the 


174  COL.  ROCKWELL'S  STORY 

side  of  the  bed  and  threw  her  arms  around  him.  "  It  is  all 
right  now,"  she  exclaimed,  "I  am  here." 

The  President  murmured  an  almost  inaudible  expression 
of  love  and  returned  her  embrace  as  best  he  could.  The 
single  witness  of  the  meeting  was  moved  to  tears,  but  Mrs. 
Garfield's  bearing  was  such  as  to  inspire  confidence  in  those 
around  her.  She  refused  to  entertain  the  idea  that  her 
husband  might  die. 

"How  does  she  bear  it?"  asked  the  President  to  Mrs. 
James  when  Mrs.  Garfield  had  left  the  room. 

"Nobly.     She  is  full  of  courage,"  was  Mrs.  James'  reply. 

".Thank  God  for  that,"  said  the  President,  "  I*  would 
rather  die  than  be  the  cause  of  bringing  on  a  relapse  of  her 
illness." 

At  this  time  the  President  was  at  the  most  critical  state 
since  the  shooting.  The  physicians  had  abandoned  all 
hope  of  "his  living  more  than  two  or  three  hours  at  the 
most.  The  pulse  was  mounting  higher  and  higher.  There 
were  signs  of  internal  hemorrhage  and  the  Temperature  of 
the  body  constantly  increasing.  The  members  of  the  Cabi 
net  were  sending  dispatches  to  different  points  announcing 
the  speedy  dissolution  of  the  President.  Within  the  short 
space  of  half  an  hour,  however,  nature  asserted  herself,  and 
the  work  of  improvement  began. 


Col.  Rockwell's  Story  of  the  Attempted  Assassination. 

Col.  A.  F.  Rockwell,  the  Private  Secretary  of  Gen.  Gar. 
field  and  intimate  friend  of  the  President,  gives  the  follow 
ing  account  of  the  attempted  assassination: 

"The  boys,  James  and  Harry  (sons  of  the  President), 
started  off  in  the  President's  carriage  to  pick  up  Dr. 
Hawks,  their  tutor,  who  was  stopping  on  F  street.  The 
President  had  arranged  the  night  before  for  Secretary 


OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  175 

Elaine  to  call  at  the  mansion  co  go  to  the  depot  with  him. 
The  Secretary  came  round  in  his  own  carriage.  Mine  was 
in  reserve  and  followed  just  behind  the  Secretary's.  I  had 
several  pieces  of  baggage  to  dispose  of,  and  so  drove  directly 
to  the  baggage-room,  and  was  getting  the  checks,  when  I 
heard  a  crack,  crack,  with  an  interval  between  the  shots 
as  long  as  it  would  take  to  cock  a  pistol.  On  the  sill  of 
the  door  leading  from  the  ladies'  parlor  into  the  general 
reception  room,  or  main  hall,  stood  Secretary  Elaine,  call 
ing  for  me  and  pointing  to  the  would-be  assassin,  Guiteau. 
It  was  a  terrible  thought,  but  nevertheless  one  which 
flashed  across  my  mind  that  the  President  had  been  shot. 
Quickly  I  had  the  President's  carriage  brought  to  the  main 
door,  the  cushions  arranged  to  make  the  President  as  com 
fortable  as  possible,  and  was  prepared  to  take  him  directly 
to  the  mansion.  The  physicians  advised  against  it  and  for 
the  best.  After  I  had  written  from  his  dictation  a  touch 
ing  telegram  to  his  wife,  and  a  hasty  examination  had  been 
made  up  stairs,  he  was  removed  to  the  ambulance.  The 
President  put  his  hand  in  mine  and  the  driver  was  cau 
tioned  to  proceed  slowly  over  the  cobble-stone  pavement 
until  we  reached  the  concrete  at  Seventh  street.  We  had 
traveled  but  two  squares  from  the  depot  when  he  asked, 
'How  far  are  we  now?'  and  in  a  subdued  voice  said:  'It 
hurts,  oh!  it  hurts.'  At  Thirteenth  street  he  again  asked: 

"  Where  are  we  now?"  1  told  him  and  he  urged  us  to  go 
a  little  faster. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  describe  Mrs.  Garfield,  the 
heroic  wife  and  mother.  She,  too,  realizes  the  restraint 
which  the  medical  Advisers  have  been  compelled  to  put 
upon  her  visits  to  the  President's  bedside.  The  sympathy 
between  them,  the  union  of  their  hearts,  impels  the  Presi 
dent  to  want  to  exert  himself,  and  then  we  have  to  protest, 
and  the  good  woman  retires." 


170  COL.  ROCKWELL'S  STORY 

"It  is  true,  that  on  tue  morning  before  the  deed,  the 
President  turned  a  handspring  over  his  bed!" 

u  It  was  the  morning  before,  this  day  week,  Jimmie, 
there  the  fellow  sits,"  pointing  to  Private  Secretary 
P«rown's  desk,  "came  into  his  father's  chamber  half-dressed, 
and  in  his  nimble  way  turned  a  handspring  over  the  ',ed 
and  back  again.  '  See  here,  papa,"  he  said,  "if  you  were 
not  so  stout,  you  might  do  that,  too,  couldn't  yon?  The 
President  kept  on  with  his  toilet,  until  Jim's  bantering 
somewhat  nettled  him,  and,  before  the  boy  could  realize  it, 
the  President  had  turned  gracefully  from  one  side  of  a  large 
double  bed  to  the  other,  and  came  down  with  a  thump  on 
the  floor.  "  There,  my  boy,  the  son  is  not  greater  than  his- 
fit  her;  now  finish  your  dressing."  "I  suppose,"  continued 
the  Colonel,  "  the  story  was  told  to  illustrate  the  strength 
and  suppleness  of  the  President  at  his  age  of  life.  Very 
few  men  of  50  years  (for  the  President  will  be  that  old  on 
the  9th  day  of  November  next)  would  care  to  undertake 
such  a  feat.  But  the  story  has  a  thrilling  secret.  You 
know,  the  ladies' room,  where  the  shots  were  fired,  is  about 
twenty  feet  wide — that  is,  from  the  door-sill  to  the  opposite 
hall.  The  aible-way  leading  to  the  main  hall  is  formed  by 
a  double  row  of  seats,  heavily  cushioned  and  of  large  frame 
work. 

When  tho  President  entered  the  depot  with  Secretary 
Blame,  he  was  in  his  cheeriest  mood.  He  passed  halfway 
down  the  aisle,  Blaiue  preceding  him  a  very  few  steps. 
Guiteiiu  stood  at  the  inside  end  of  the  row  of  seats  near  the 
main  entrance  on  the  left,  when  he  fired  the  first  shot, 
\vhiuh  did  the  President  no  harm,  for  h.£  turned  to  see  from 
whence  tho  -sound  came,  and  saw  Guiteau  advancing.  He 
was  preparing  to  leap  over  the  seat,  that  is,  he  realized 
when  he  turned  partially  around  that  the  man  had  fired  at 
hi-ri.  lie  instantly  determined  to  attack  the  man.  The 


OF  THE  A  SSA  SSINA  TION.  \ IT 

next  instant  the  President  would  have  been  face  to  ttiee 
with  Guiteau.  His  confidence  in  his  ability  to  spring  o%er 
the  barrier,  for  the  back  of  the  seats  is  about  four  feet 
high,  flashed  upor  him,  and  his  whole  muscular  strength 
was  Mraiued  for  the  act  when  he  fell  forward  struck  by  the 
second  shot.  Guiteau  was  behind  him.  The  instant  he 
pulled  the  trigger  the  first  time  he  stepped  forward  fovir 
feet.  It  was  but  the  very  fraction  of  a  second  between  the: 
explosion  and  the  President's  alarm.  The  fraction  was  on. 
the  side  of  the  would-be  assassin. 

His  purpose  was  also  to  fire  a  second  shot,  and  he  stepped 
quickly  forward  to  get  as  near  the  President  as  possible. 
They  were  not  six  feet  apart,  so  that  the  instant  the  Presi 
dent  realized  the  situation  his  intense  activity  of  mind  aneT 
muscle  made  him  aggressive,  and  it  was  at  that  instant  he 
received  the  staggering  bullet  and  fell  forward  against  the 
wainscoting  of  the  reception-room,  at  the  head  -of  the  aisle 
leading  to  the  main  hall.  Till  no  w  the  impression  seems 
to  have  gained  a  hold  that  Guiteau 's  act  was  done  so  quickly 
that  the  President  did"not  comprehend  what  was  going  on. 
It  is  time,  as  I  told  you  a  while  ago,  that  the  reports  of 
the  firing  were  so  close  together  that  it  could  not  have  been 
longer  than  it  would  take  to  cock  a  pistol,  yet  during  this 
time  Guiteau  wf.s  advancing  and  the  President  preparing 
to  advance  upon  his 'assailant. 

Anyone  who  will  take  his  watch  and  carefully  observe 
the  beats  of  the  second-hand,  will  be  surprised  at  the  dis 
tance  one  can  get  over  in  a  second  if  impelled  by  a  strong 
motive.  The  position  in  which  Guiteau  stood  made  it 
necessary  for  him  to  shoot  at  nearly  an  angle  of  40  degrees 
while  the  position  of  the  body  of  the  President  was  also  at 
about  the  same  angle  with  the  seats  when  the  ball  struck 
his  right  side.  With  this  understanding  of  the  position  of 
the  two,  it  is  evident  that  the  ball  met  with  great  resistance 


178  INCIDENTS  ON  THE  SICK-BED. 

and  was  deflected.  Its  natural  course  would  have  been 
through  the  body,  passing  out  over  the  pelvis,  so  it  is  a 
reasonable  theory  that,  upon  entering  the  interior  of  the 
body,  its  force  had  been  exhausted,  and  the  internal  injury 
is  less  than  it  was  at  first  supposed.  All  of  which  gladdens 
us  with  increased  hope  and  conviction  that  his  recovery  is 
now  only  a  question  of  time." 


Scenes  and  Incidents  on  the  Sick-Bed. 

"NOT  so  WELL  AS  i  THOUGHT." 

One  day  before  a  chill,  the  President  was  speaking  words 
of  hope  and  enjoying  the  soft  breeze  tempered  by  the  rays 
of  the  sun  that  flowed  in  so  gratefully  through  the  window. 
He  had  said: 

"  I  feel  better.  The  ngor  yesterday  was  at  the  best  but 
a  trifle."  The  President  asked  what  they  were  about  to 
write  of  his  condition. .  Bliss  announced: 

"  We  are  going  to  give  the  public  good  news  to-day.' 

"  You  are  not  likely,  responded  the  patient,  to  make  it 
too  strong.  I  feel  ever  so  much  better." 

"  Directly  afterwards  the  chill  came.  When  the  rigor 
passed  there  was  no  apparent  rally  on  the  part  of  the  pa 
tient,  who  lay  exhausted  in  a  stupor.  For  a  time  it  seemed 
as  if  the  end  had  really  come,  and  that  out  of  that  state  of 
unconsciousness  the  President  would  never  awake.  The 
treatment,  however,  had  its  effect  in  time,  although  nearl^ 
three  hours  after  the  chill  had  gone  by." 

Perspiration  that  followed  the  chill  was  profuse,  but  the 
mind  was  clear,  and  he  seemed  to  bear  up  bravely,  though 
aware  of  his  condition.  He  said  half  jestingly,  "  I  am  not 
not  so  well  as  I  thought  I  was,  am  I?" 

THE  PATIENT'S  WATCHFULNESS. 

When  Dr.  Bliss  was  taking  the  temperature  one  evening, 
an  operation  which  consumes  exactly  ten  minutes,  he  re- 


INCIDENTS  OF  THE  SICK-BED.  179 

marked  to  General  Swaim  after  nine  minutes  had  passed: 

"  I  can't  make  it  about  normal." 

ft  Well,"  said  the  President,  "you  have  just  one  minute 
more." 

The  Doctor  was  surprised  by  the  accuracy  of  the  patient's 
information  regarding  the  lapse  of  time. 

"  How  do  you  know?"  he  asked. 

In  reply  the  President  pointed  to  a  little  cluck  sitting  on 
the  mantel,  a  present  from  some  friend  the  presence  of 
which  the  Doctor  had  not  discovered  until  that  moment. 

LAST   OF    EARTH. 

General  Swaim  tells  the  story  of  the  death-bed  scene  from 
Lis  own  observations.  He  was  General  Gartield's  watcher 
for  the  night,  and  Dr.  Bliss  had  gone  across  the  passage  to 
his  own  room  to  prepare  for  Swaim,  before  going  to  bed,  a 
written  memoranda  of  what  was  to  be  the  treatment  of  the 
case  for  the  night.  A  few  moments  before  ten  o'clock,  while 
the  President  was  sleeping,  Swaim  put  his  hand  under  the 
bed-clothes,  and  finding  that  the  patient's  limbs  were  slightly 
cold  he  immediately  applied  warm  cloths.  At  ten  o'clock 
the  President  awoke  from  pain  in  the  region  of  the  heart, 
and  placing  his  hand  upon  his  left  breast  said:  "I  have  a 
terrible  pain,"  and  asked  for  a  glass  of  water.  Before  the 
water  could  be  handed  to  him  he  exclaimed:  "Oh  Swaim,'1 
.and  with  his  hand  pressed  upon  his  heart  at  once  lost  con 
sciousness. 

Dr.  Bliss  and  the  other  physicians  were  promptly  sum 
moned,  and  did  what  they  could  to  revive  him,  although  it 
was  evident  that  death  was  upon  him.  He  lay  there,  his 
breath  passing  in  sighs.  Mrs.  Garfield  stood  there,  and 
fully  realizing  the  calamity  that  was  present,  said:  u  Why 
am  I  called  upon  to  bear  this  sorrow  ?"  At  10:35  life  was 
extinct,  and  Mrs.  Garn'eld  passed  from  the  chamber.  After 
ward  she  returned  and  remained  for  two  hours  with  the 
body  of  her  dead  husband. 


180 


THE  MEDICAL  RECORD. 


THE  MEDICAL  RECCED. 

PUL3K  TEMPERATURE  AND  RESPIRATION. 

The  following  table,  compiled  from  ttie  ofueiui  bulletins,  shows 
the  variations  of  the  pulse,  temperature  and  respiration  of  Presi 
dent  Gartield  each  day  since  he  was  wounded.  The  highest  pulse 
recorded,  it  will  be  seen,  was  1'JO,  which  was  60  pulsations  above 
the  normal  rate  of  the  patient,  and  the  lowest  was  94,  which  was 
24  pulsations  too  many. 


Month 

Time 

j? 
I 

II 

2 

Month 

Time 

•1 
F 

P 

1 

3 

I  Ruopiration  — 

Month 

Time 

z 

Temperature  .  . 

July 

e.oo  p  m 

8.  30  p  111 
1.20  p  m 
a.  45  a  ni 
8.00  a  m 
10.  10  a  ni 
3.00  p  in 
10.45  P  DI 
8.15  a  in 
12.30  p  m 
7.45  p  ni 
10.00  p  ni 
8.  30  a  m 

taJ 

CM 
114 

I    4 
,  , 

rofl 

July 

7.00  p  n» 
8.  15  a  m 
is.  oo  a  in* 
7.00  p  m 
8.30  a  m 
7.00  p  n 
8.30  a  n 
/  03  p  n 
8.  oo  a  r> 
7.00  p  n 
8.00  P  ni 
7.  oo  p  m 

pi  93  4 

ni  99.  fc 

^    ^.4 

iioiioi.ti 

ioo|  9^-4 
104  ico.  7 

04  ico.  5 

S 

»4 

-  ^ 

^4 
18 

B 
:«- 

a 

August 

22  

?  30  a  m 

(.30  p  m 
8.30  a  m 
6.  ,?o  p  m 
8.  30  a  ni 
6.  V>  P  m 
8.30  a  m 
0.30  p  in 
a.  30  a  111 
C.  30  p  m 
8.30  a  m 
6.  30  p  m 
8.  30  a  ni 
6.  so  p  m 
8.30  a  in 
6.  30  p  in 
8.  50  p  in 
6.30  p  m 
3.  30  a  ni 
6-  30  p  in 

x  a  in 
6.30  p  ni 
C.  30  a  m 
6.  30  p  in 
8.  30  a  ni 
6.30  p  m 
8.  30  a  ni 
6.30  p  in 
8.30  a  ni 
6.  30  p  in 
8.  30  u  m 
6.  30  p  in 
9.  (r>  a  in 
o.oo  p  m 
8.  y  a  in 
5.00  p  in 
8.30  a  in 
d.oo  p  111 
3.  30  U  Ul 
6.oc  p  111 
8.30  a  in 
6.00  p  m 

''4 
i  ii, 
00 
104 

ii  ., 
08 

> 
.  u 
i.  . 

Mi. 
[0 

M.1 

110 

1  1  .• 
I  ., 

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104 
104 

.. 
it* 
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to 

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104 

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106 

IOO 
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100 

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10.} 

i  j 
i  . 

KX 

"4 

98.4 
ioo.  i 
98.4 
90.2 
9S-5 
96.3 

c.9.  i 

99.9 
9&4 

79-9 
98.4 
99-7 
9»-S 

^:I 
99.5 
9«.4 
98.6 

98.4 

99-4 
98-4 
99-2 
9S.  6 
98.6 
98.4 
99- 
9  "5 
99.8 
99.8 
101.6 
984 

101. 

98.7 
99.1 

98.5 
98.0 

o-'l.  7 

IOO. 

93.4 

98.6 
09.4 

!^8-4 
98.4 
99  .2 

9:3.4 

98!  6 
98.6 
99.;; 
98. 
98.6 

V:.'. 
<:.v,.  8 

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99-4  ' 

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101.9  2' 

IOI.  2^ 
K  •  !  I 

24  

25  
26  
27  

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26  
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4-  

28 

8.  30  p  11) 
8.30  a  in 
12.30  p  m 
8.30  p  m 
9.  15  a  m 
i.  oo  p  m 
8.30  p  in 
8.  30  a  m 
12.30  p  m 
8.00  p  m 
8.30  a  in 
i.oo  p  m 
7.30  p  m 
8.00  a  m 
i.oo  p  in 

POO  p  m 
8.  oo  a  in 
i.  oo  p  m 
7.00  p  m 
8.00  a  m 
i.oo  p  in 
7.00  p  m 
8  30  a  in 
i.oo  p  m 
7.00  p  m 
8.30  a  in 
i.oo  p  m 
7.00  p  in 

8.30  a  m 
i.oo  p  m 
7.00  p  m 
8.30  a  in 
7.  oo  p  in 
8.  30  a  m 
7.00  p  m 
8.30  a  ir. 
7.  oo  p  m 
8.30  a  ni 
7.00  p  m 
8.30  a  in 
7.00  i)  tn 
8.  30  a  m 
'  7.00  p  ni 
8.30  a  ni 
6.30  p  in 
7.00  a  m 
10.00  a  in 
12.  30  p  m 

t  TO 

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91 

i  6 

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102 

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101.  2 
IOI-9  2- 
98.92 

99-  7  2 

IOO.  2 
99.  J  2 

108.  2 

99.2  2 
104.  2 

101  3  2 
99-4  - 

IOI.2  2- 
IOI-9  2 
100.  i 

'05.  5  2 
IOI.G  2 
98.89 

99  8  - 

IO2.  8  - 
99.6  2- 

l  .  X  '. 

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to  .6  - 

IOI.  6  2 

99-8- 

99-  5  '•< 
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98-5  1 
98.5  1 

100.4  - 

98.51 

98.4  1 

98.41 

IOO.  2  2 
98.4  I 
1100.  7  2 
98.51 
99.8  I 
98.4  i 

09.  f«  I 
98.  4  i 
99-9  i 
98.4  i 

100.2  I 
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7.00  p  m 
8.  30  a  m 
7.00  p  in 

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7.00  p  m 
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8.  30  a  in 
7.  oo  P  m 
8.30  a  m 
7.00  p  in 
8.  30  u  in 
7.30  p  111 
8.30  a  m 
7.30  p  in 
8.  ST  a  m 

6.?o  P  111 
S.  3    a  tn 
6.30  p  ni 
8.30  a  in 
6.30  p  ni 
8.30  ;i  in 
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fi    .,  !•  tn 
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100.8 
100.7 
91.8 

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8.30  a  m 
5-3op  m 
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6.30  p  111 
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8.30  a  in 
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5  r->  v  ™ 
8  TO  a  m 
9  oo  a  ni 
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18.  

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J, 

THE  RUN  TO  LONG  BRANCH.  1S1 


The  Han  to  Long:  Branch. 

Private  Secretary  Brown  makes,  in  substance,  the  fol 
lowing  statement  of  the  trip  from  Washington  to  the  El- 
beron : 

Upon  leaving  the  execntive  mansion  the  President 
seemed  to  enjoy  the  scenery  and  looked  around  inquiringly. 
He  noticed  several  employes  standing  in  front  of  the  man 
sion  and  waved  his  hand  to  them,  at  the  same  time  smiling 
as  if  if  were  very  gratifying  to  him  to  leave  the  scene  of  his 
long  illness.  All  the  way  to  the  depot  he  was  a  very  anx 
ious  observer  of  everything,  and  this  he  was  not  prevented 
•doing.  Upon  arrival  at  Sixth  street  and  Pennsylvania 
avenue  the  patient  was  removed  from  the  express  wagon 
and  placed  on  a  spring  mattress  which  had  been  prepared 
for  his  reception. 

The  President  experienced  little  or  no  disturbance  in  be 
ing  transferred  from  the  vehicle  to  the  car,  and  his  pulse, 
although  slightly  accelerated,  reaching  about  115,  fell  to 
about  106  before  the  train  started,  and  shortly  after  fell  to 
104,  and  again  to  102. 

The  first  stop  of  the  train  was  made  at  Patapsco,  at 
•which  point  the  parotid  gland  was  dressed. 

The  pessengers  on  the*special  train  besides  th  ;  President 
were:  Mrs.  Garfield  and  Miss  Mollie;  C.  O.  Kockwell, 
the  President's  brother-in-law;  Col.  A.  F.  Kockwell,  wife 
and  daughter;  Gen.  D.  G.  Swaim,  Secretary  Brown,  Col. 
H.  C.  Corbin  and  "Warren  S.  Young,  assistant  to  Secretary 
Brown.  The  surgeons  in  charge,  namely,  D.  W.  Bliss,  J. 
K.  Barnes,  J.  J.  Woodward,  Robert  Reyburn  and  D.  Hayes 
Agnew ;  nurses,  Drs.  S.  S.  Boynton  and  Edson ;  domestics, 


182  THE  RUN  TO  LONG  BRANCH. 

Dane,  Sprigg,  Mary  White,  and  Eliza  Cutter;  T.  N.  Ely, 
superintendent  of  motive  power  of  the  Pennsylvania  rail 
way,  in  charge  of  the  train;  Charles  Watts,  assistant  in 
charge  of  the  train;  James  T.  Elder,  chief  inspector  of  air 
brakes;  George  Albright,  inspector  of  air-brakes;  J.  P. 
Syster,  carpenter;  E.  M.  Berrell,  porter  of  President  Eob- 
erts'  car,  porter;  Andrew  James,  assistant  porter,  and  J. 
Sharp,  assistant  trainmaster  of  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac 
railroad;  William  Page,  engineer;  E.  Grinnell,  fireman; 
J.  Mason,  fireman;  G.  K.  Dean  and  James  Kelly,  brake- 
men  on  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac.  Extract  of  beef  was 
administered  at  10:10  a.  m. 

A  stop  of  four  minutes  occurred  at  Lamokin  for  fuel,  tiie 
only  time  coal  was  taken  in  on  the  trip.  At  10:30  a  stop 
of  five  minutes  was  made  at  Gray's  Ferry  for  water.  Be 
tween  Philadelphia  and  Monmouth  Junction  the  special 
train  made  several  miles  at  the  rate  of  seventy  miles  per 
hour. 

Bay  Yiew  was  reached  at  8:05,  and  a  brief  stop  was 
made  to  enable  the  surgeons  to  make  a  dressing  of  the 
wound.  It  was  found  to  have  suffered  no  derangement  by 
travel.  The  dressing  was  soon  accomplished,  and  the  train, 
after  leaving  Bay  Yiew,  was  run  at  the  rate  of  fifty  miles- 
an  hour.  The  track  in  this  locality  is  very  straight,  and  in 
excellent  condition,  and,  though  the  speed  was  at  time& 
greater  than  fifty  miles  an  hour,  the  vibration  of  the  Presi 
dent's  bed  was  no  more  than  it  would  have  been  had  the 
train  been  moving  at  twenty  miles  per  hour.  The  attend 
ing  surgeons  felt  very  much  gratified  with  the  manner  in 
which  the  removal  was  conducted,  and  were  generally  of 
opinion  that,  with  the  exception  of  being  slightly  fatigued, 
the  President  would  endure  the  journey  exceedingly  well. 

A  gentleman  who  was  on  board  the  President's  train  said 
that  when  Philadelphia  was  passed  Mrs.  Gartield  came  into 


THE  RUN  TO  LONG  BRANCH.  188 

the  car.  The  President  was  lying  in  a  half  doze,  but  seemed 
to  recognize  her  presence,  and  immediately  opened  his  eyes 
and  said:  "Well,  Crete,  this  is  quite»a  journey." 

"Do  you  feel  any  bad  effects  of  the  ride,"  she  asked 
kindly. 

"  Not  a  bit.  This  is  many  times  better  than  the  confine 
ment  of  that  horrible  room  in  the  White  House." 

Before  that,  and  while  passing  through  Chester,  he  no 
ticed  from  the  elevation  on  which  he  lay,  and  which  enabled 
him  to  look  out  through  the  window,  a  large  crowd  at  the 
depot.  It  was,  in  fact,  the  only  place  where  there  was  a 
crowd  on  the  line  of  route.  He  was  very  much  interested; 
in  fact,  his  interest  partook  of  the  nature  of  excitement, 
Dr.  Bliss  stepped  forward  and  dropped  the  curtain  of  the 
window. 

"  Put  it  up,"  said  Mr.  Garficld,  pettishly.  "  I  want  to 
see  the  people." 

At  this  time  the  train  was  running  at  the  rate  of  fifty- 
five  miles  an  hour.  There  are  a  number  of  switches  here, 
and  the  only  jolt  that  had  been  felt  was  experienced  as  the 
train  dashed  over  the  rails  of  the  freight-yard  at  the  uorth 
side  of  Washington.  He  placed  his  hand  on  his  stomach 
and  said: 

"It  feels  qualmish." 

The  doctors  were  afraid  that  a  recurrence  of  the  vomiting, 
which  boded  such  disastrous  results,  was  about  to  come. 
He  was  given  a  considerable  quantity  of  stimulant,  and, 
ander  its  influence,  he  fell  asleep  and  rode  fourteen  miles 
in  fourteen  minutes,  without  waking.  When  he  opened 
his  eyes  he  said  : 

"  Where  are  we  ? — half  way  ?" 

Col.  Rockwell,  who  was  beside  him,  said  :  "  Yes,  more 
than  half  way,"  and  he  replied  : 


184  THE  RUN  TO  L03G  BRANCH. 

""Well,  this  is  the  most  interesting  day  I  hare  had  since 
I  was  shot." 

At  Gray's  Ferry,  three  miles  south  of  Philadelphia,  the 
journals  on  the  President's  car  had  become  so  heated  that 
it  was  necessary  to  repack  them.  When  the  train  started 
again  they  were  not  to  stop  until  they  reached  Freehold, 
sixty  miles  nearer  the  point  of  destination. 

Once,  when  traveling  at  the  rate  of  sixty  miles  an  hour, 
Dr.  Bliss  said  to  him  : 

"  Mr.  President,  if  the  movement  affects  you  in  any  way, 
we  will  reduce  the  speed." 

"  No,"  he  answered,  "  let  her  go." 

Afterward  Dr.  Bliss  remarked  that  we  would  stop  and 
give  him  his  bath. 

u  No,"  said  the  President,  "  to  get  to  the  end  of  this  trip 
is  more  important  now  than  the  bath." 

The  President  was  given  food  regularly  every  two  hours 
-during  the  journey,  but  he  had  no  enema  given  him.  His 
food  consisted  of  from  two  to  four  ounces  of  beef  extract 
'©ach  time. 

A  track  3,500  feet  long  had  been  laid  from  the  regular 
-station  to  the  front  door  of  the  cottage  where  he  was  to  stop. 
Although  the  sun  was  broiling  hot  and  Long  Branch  has 
seldom  experienced  such  sultriness,  the  long  line  of  roads 
was  lined  with  carriages,  and  with  men  a,7id  women  on  foot, 
of  all  ages  and  from  every  class  in  society,  each  bent  on 
.showing  reverence  to  the  President.  It  was  known  that  he 
would  not  be  seen,  and  the  mere  sight  of  a  moving  train 
would  have  drawn  none  of  them,  but  it  was  a  spontaneous 
movement  on  the  part  of  all  within  reach  to  stand  quietly 
and  in  a  respectful  attitude  while  the  Nation's  sufferer 
passed.  The  track  had  been  laid  not  only  to  the  grounds, 
but  through  them  and  close  up  to  the  porch  \vhere  ho  was 
to  be  received. 


THE  ENGINEERS  STORY.  185 

Shortly  after  one  o'clock  the  train  was  seen  coming  slowly 
round  the  curve  out  from  the  apple  orchard  through  which 
the  branch  track  passes.  When  within  two  hundred  feet 
of  the  cottage  the  train  stopped.  The  last  car,  containing 
Mrs.  Garfield,  her  daughter  Mollie  and  Mrs.  and  Miss  Hock- 
well,  was  uncoupled  and  pushed  by  the  railroad  laborers  a 
little  beyond  the  cottage.  Then  the  President's  car  was  de 
tached,  and  a  hundred  citizens  sprang  forward  and  sur 
rounded  it.  It  was  moved  gently,  and  stopped  right  before 
the  ocean-side  entrance  to  the  cottage  at  1:31  p.  m.,  having 
occupied  almost  exactly  six  hours  in  its  trip  from  "Washing 
ton.  First  several  utensils  were  taken  out  by  attendants. 
At  last  all  was  ready,  and  the  President  was  carefully  lifted 
from  the  car  on  a  stretcher,  which  was  carried  by  the  sur 
geons  .into  the  cottage  beneath  canvas  awnings  which  ran 
out  from  the  entrance  to  the  car  and  concealed  the  sight 
from  the  crowd,  which  soon  began  to  disperse. 


The  Engineer's  Story. 

William  Page  was  the  man  who  brought  the  President 
through  safely  from  Washington  to  Long  Branch.  He  was 
a  most  striking  figure  on  the  train  as  it  pushed  up  in  front 
of  the  Elberon.  His  long  beard  was  floating  in  the  wind, 
which  was  blowing  in  from  the  sea,  and  his  swarthy  face 
was  covered  with  dirt  and  cinders.  He  stood  erect  and 
firm,  and  with  an  air  of  conscious  pride  in  every  feature, 
that  showed  he  was  conscious  of  a  duty  well  performed. 

«  Did  she  behave  well  to-day  on  the  trip? "  was  asked. 

"  Behave?    Well  I  should  say  so.     She  seemed  to  feel  all 


180  THE  ENGINEERS  STORY. 

that  was  required  of  her.  When,  on  ordinary  occasions,  I 
take  her  over  the  road  she  starts  off  with  a  jerk  like,  and 
raising  herself,  and  goes  galloping  down,  puffing  and  snort 
ing,  but  this  morning  she  glided  away  as  gentle  as  a  lady's 
mare,  and  even  when  I  put  her  to  her  best,  and  she  went 
on  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  in  fifty- three  seconds,  she  seemed  to 
hold  her  breath."  As  he  said  this  he  leaned  out  of  the  cab 
and  looked  at  his  engine  as  kindly  as  a  rider  would  his  fav 
orite  horse. 

"  Then  you  limited  the  speed  to  forty-five  miles  an  hour, 
which  was  intended?" 

"  Oh,  no  I  that  you  see,  would  only  have  been  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  to  a  minute,  and  a  good  deal  of  the  way 
we  made  more  than  a  mile  a  minute." 

"  Did  the  doctors  and  the  President  know  you  were  going 
at  that  speed  ?" 

"They  did  not  the  first  time  I  let  her  go;  and  I'll  tell 
you,"  he  said,  after  a  moment's  hesitation,  "  how  I  came  to 
do  it.  We  left  Washington  at  6:37  this  morning.  We  ran 
down  to  Patapsco,  thirty-seven  miles  out,  at  a  limited  rate. 
There  we  stopped  three  minutes.  This  stop,  like  all  the 
other  stops  made  on  the  way  up,  were  to  change  crews,  to 
water,  and  allow  the  physicians  to  attend  on  the  President. 
I  saw  one  of  the  attendants,  I  guess  it  was  Col.  Rockwell, 
coming  down  the  platform,  and  I  called  out  to  him,  <  How 
is  the  President?'  You  see  though  I  was  not  sure  who  he 
was,  I  felt  kind  of  safe  in  calling  him  Colonel.  '  He  is 
doing  finely,  Page,'  came  back  the  answer. 

*  Does  he  feel  the  motion? '  '  Not  at  all.  Why,  you  are 
going  as  smoothly  as  a  carriage  over  an  asphalt  pavement.' 

"  Was  it  then  you  began  to  think  of  running  a  little 
faster?" 

"Well,  yes;  but  as  Bay  view,  our  next  stopping  place, 
was  Only  eight  miles  further,  I  did  not  try  until  we  started 


THE  ENGINEER'S  STORY.  187 

from  Bayview  to  Perryville,  seventy-eight  miles  out  from 
Washington.  They  sent  word  that  the  President  had 
been  doing  better  and  better  as  the  distance  from  the 
White  House  was  increased,  so  I  thought  I  would  water  the 
engines,  and,  if  she  went  smoothly,  try  one  mile  a  little 
faster.  Lamokin,  the  next  halt,  was  forty-six  miles  further 
on.  The  engine  behaved  beautifully,  and  was  half  way  be 
tween  Bayview  and  Lamokin.  I  went  on  with  the  trial, 
and  went  one  mile  in  fifty-three  seconds.  1  did  not  feel  a 
jolt  or  jar  as  she  went  tearing  down  the  track,  but  I  knew 
then  that  if  the  President  had  a  mind  he  might  get  the 
sea-breeze  sooner.  We  stopped  seven  minutes  at  Lamokin. 
I  called  out  to  one  of  the  attendants:  <  Did  you  notice  any 
extra  motion  when  we  were  going  faster?' 

«.<  Why,  no,'  was  the  reply.  Were  we  traveling  faster 
than  forty-five  miles  an  hour?' 

" '  Yes,  sir,'  says  I,  '  we  went  one  mile  in  fifty-three 
seconds.' 

"  *  Well,'  says  he,  4 1  did  not  notice  it,  and  I  am  sure  the 
President  did  not.  I  will  go  and  ask.' 

"  Pretty  soon  I  saw  him  coming  down  the  platform. 
" 4  Whip  her  up,  Page,  whip  her  up,'  he  called  out.  The 
President  did  not  feel  any  extra  motion.  They  were  all 
delighted  to  hear  that  we  were  getting  along  faster,  and  the 
President  said:  'Tell  him  to  go  ahead.  I  want  to  get 
there.' 

"  '  Does  he  continue  to  improve?'  I  asked. 
" <  Yes.    He  said  a  short  time  ago:  'I  feel  as  if  I  were 
on  the  road  to  recovery.' '; 

"  After  these  stops,"  was  asked,  "  yon  went  pretty  much 
at  the  speed  yon  thought  best,  according  to  your  knowledge 
of  the  road?" 

"  Pretty  much  as  I  thought  best,  and  the  engine  behaved 
well  right  through  to  Elberon— yes  sir,  right  straight 


188  THE  LAST  DATS  BULLETINS. 

through.  She  ran  more  smoothly  than  she  is  running  now, 
and  I  warrant  you'er  not  being  much  shaken  at  this  mo- 
moment." 

u  I  suppose  after  this  she  will  be  the  most  famous  engine 
on  the  road?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  and  she  ought  to  be.  I  guess  she  has  earned 
a  National  reputation  to-day." 


The  Last  Day's  Bulletins. 

The  following  bulletins  were  issued  during  the  day  on 
which  the  President  died.  The  last  one,  it  will  be  noticed, 
was  sent  at  10:10  p.  m.  At  10:35,  the  great  and  good  man 
was  dead. 

ELBERON,  N.  J.,  Sept.  19,  9  A.  M.— The  condition  of  the  Presi 
dent  this  morning  continues  unfavorable.  Shortly  after  the  issue 
of  the  evening  bulletin  he  had  a  chill  lasting  fifteen  minutes. 
The  febrile  rise  following  continued  until  12  midnight,  during 
which  time  his  pulse  ranged  from  112  to  130.  The  sweating  that 
followed  was  quite  profuse.  The  cough,  which  was  quite  trouble 
some  during  the  chill,  gave  him  but  little  annoyance  the  remainder 
of  the  night.  This  morning  at  8  o'clock  his  temperature  is  98.8, 
pulse,  106  and  feeble;  respiration,  22.  At  8:30  another  chill  came 
on,  on  account  of  which  the  dressing  was  temporarily  postponed. 
A  bulletin  will  be  issued  at  12 :30  P.  M,  D.  W.  BLISS, 

D.  HAYES  AGNEW. 

12:30  P.  M.— The  chill  from  which  the  President  was  suffering 
at  the  time  the  morning  bulletin  was  issued  lasted  about  fifteen 
minutes,  and  was  followed  by  febrile  rise  of  temperature  and 
sweating.  H6  has  slept  much  of  the  time,  but  his  general  condi 
tion  has  not  materially  changed  since.  Temperature,  98.2;  pulse, 
104;  revspiration.  20.  D.  W.  BLISS. 

D.  HAYES  AGNEW. 

2  P.  M.— Dr.  Boynton  says  the  President  is  perceptibly  weaker 


THE  DEATH-BED  SCENE.  1ST 

than  yesterday.  There  was  considerable  mental  disturbance  last 
night,  and  there  has  been  more  or  less  delirium  to-day.  There  is 
nothing  encouraging  to  report  so  far  this  afternoon.  He  takes 
his  nourishment  and  stimulents  as  usual. 

6  P.  M.— Though  the  gravity  of  the  President's  condition  con 
tinues,  there  has  been  no  aggravation  of  the  symptoms  since  the 
noon  bulletin  was  issued.  He  has  slept  most  of  the  time,  cough 
ing  but  little  and  with  more  ease.  The  sputa  remains  unchanged. 
A  sufficient  amount  of  nourishment  has  been  taken  and  retained. 
Temperature,  98.4;  pulse,  102;  respiration,  18. 

6:40  P.  M.— In  an  interview  a  few  minutes  ago,  Attorney-General 
MacVeagh  said  there wereno  new  grounds  for  hope,  and  the  Pres 
ident  could  not  last  long  in  his  present  weak  condition.  He  is 
weaker  now  than  at  any  time,  and  the  Attorney-General  has  the 
greatest  apprehensions.  The  mind  of  the  President  has  been  per 
fectly  clear  all  day.  There  is  no  reason  now  to  believe  he  will 
have  another  chill.  The  Attorney-General  says  he  understands 
every  precaution  has  been  taken  during  the  day  to  prevent  recur 
rence  of  the  rigors.  At  6 :30  Miss  Mollie  Garfield  was  walking  on 
the  lawn  with  several  ladies. 

7:25  P.  M.— Dr.  Agnew  said  he  does  not  feel  much  encouraged 
by  the  evening  bulletin.  The  case  is  still  critical. 

THE  LAST  WHILE  ALIVE. 

10:10  P.  M.— The  President  thus  far  has  passed  a  comfortable 
night.  He  is  now  sleeping  with  pulse  at  120  and  no  indication!  of 
another  chill 


The  Death-Bed  Scene. 

The  death-bed  scene  of  the  President  wa«  a  peculiarly 
sad  and  impressive  one.  As  soon  as  the  doctors  felt  thera 
waa  no  longer  hope,  the  members  of  the  family  assembled. 
Dr.  Bliss  stood  at  the .  head  of  the  bed*  with  his  hand  on 
the  pulse  of  the  patient,  and  consulted  in  low  whispers 
with  Dr.  Agnew.  The  Private  Secretary  stood  on  the 


190  THE  DEATH-BED  SCENE. 

opposite  side  of  the  bed,  with  Mrs.  Garfield  at  the  bedside, 
she  at  times  leaning  on  his  arm.  Miss  Lulu  Rockwell  and 
Miss  Mollie  Garfield  came  into  the  room  at  the  time  the 
President  lost  consciousness.  Afterward  they  went  into 
the  hall,  the  door  of  which  remained  open,  and  waited 
there.  What  conversation  was  had  was  conducted  in  whis 
pers.  Those  about  the  bed  occasionally  went  into  the  cor 
ners  of  the  room  and  spoke  to  each  other.  The  solemnity 
of  the  occasion  fully  impressed  itself  upon  them.  There 
was  no  sound  heard  except  the  gasping  for  breath  of  the 
sufferer,  whose  changing  color  gave  indications  of  the  near 
approach  of  the  end. 

LAST  WORDS. 

jyter  he  had  repeated  "  It  hurts,"  he  passed  into  a  state 
of  unconsciousness,  breathing  heavily  at  times,  and  then  giv 
ing  a  slight  indication  that  breath  \\as  still  in  his  body. 
The  only  treatment  that  was  given  was  hypodermic  injec 
tions  of  brandy  by  Dr.  Agnew,  assisted  by  Dr.  Boynton. 
Occasionally  they  spoke  with  Dr.  Bliss  in  quiet  whispers. 
The  President  suffered  no  pain  after  the  time  he  placed  his 
hand  upon  his  heart.  He  passed  away  almost  quietly. 
The  time  between  life  and  death  was  not  marked  by  any 
physical  exhibition  or  any  word.  There  was  absolutely  no 
scene.  The  intervals  between  the  gaspings  became  longer, 
and  presently  there  was  no  sound.  Everyone  present  knew 
death  had  come  quickly,  without  pain.  When  it  became 
evident  that  he  was  dead,  Mrs.  Rockwell  placed  her  arm 
around  Mrs.  Garfield  and  led  her  quietly  from  the  room. 
She  uttered  no  word.  One  by  one  the  spectators  left  the 
scene,  the  doctors  only  remaining  in  the  room,  and  the 
windows  were  closed. 


THE  AUTOPSY.  101 

ABOUND  THE  DEATH-BED. 

The  following  persons  were  present  when  the  President 
breathed  his  last :  Drs.  Bliss  and  Agnew,  Mrs.  Garfield 
and  her  daughter  Mollie,  Col.  Eockwell,  O.  C.  Kockwell, 
Gen.  Swaim,  Dr.  Boynton,  Private  Secretary  J.  Stanley 
Brown,  Mrs.  and  Miss  Eockwell,  Executive  Secretary 
Warren  Young,  H.  L.  Atchison,  John  Kicker,  S.  Lancaster 
and  Daniel  Spriggs,  attendants — the  last  named  colored. 

Mrs.  Garfield  sat  in  her  chair  shaking  convulsively,  and 
with  the  tears  pouring  down  her  cheeks,  but  uttering  no 
sound.  After  a  while  she  arose,  and,  taking  hold  of  her 
dead  husband's  arm,  smoothed  it  up  and  down.  Poor 
little  Mollie  threw  herself  upon  her  father's  shoulder  on 
the  other  si'de  of  the  bed,  and  sobbed  as  if  her  heart  would 
break.  Everybody  else  was  weeping.  At  midnight  Mrs. 
Garfield  was  asked  if  she  would  like  to  have  anything  done, 
and  whether  she  desired  to  have  the  body  taken  to  Wash 
ington.  She  replied  that  she  could  not  decide  until  she 
became  more  composed. 


The  Autopsy. 

It  was  3  o'clock  when  the  special  train  which  had  gone 
to  Sea  Girt  to  meet  the  physicians  summoned  from  Wash 
ington  to  attend  the  autopsy  arrived  at  Elberon.  The 
surgeons,  Drs.  Reyburn,  Barnes,  Woodward,  and  Lamb 
were  driven  at  once  to  the  hotel,  and,  after  a  short  consul 
tation  with  the  other  doctors,  it  was  decided  to  proceed 
with  the  autopsy  at  once,  as  the  sun  was  already  declining 
in  the  West,  and  it  was  desirable  to  perform  the  work 


192  THE  AUTOPSY. 

during  the  daylight.  The  physicians,  therefore,  proceeded 
at  once  to  their  work.  At  4  o'clock  the  body  was  laid  out 
for  the  examination.  There  were  present  Drs.  Agnew, 
Bliss,  Barnes,  Key  burn,  Woodward,  and  Lamb.  The  ex 
amination  proved  a  slow  and  dangerous  one,  the  poisonous 
condition  of  the  flesh,  notwithstanding  being  carefully 
prepared  for  the  work,  rendering  it  exceedingly  dangerous 
to  handle.  It  was  fourteen  minutes  to  8  o'clock  before  the 
physicians  concluded  their  work.  They  then  came  out  to 
lunch,  and  returned  to  prepare  their  report. 

THE  OFFICIAL  REPORT. 

ELBEEON,  N.  J.,  Sept.  20. — The  following  official  bul 
letin  was  prepared  at  11  o'clock  to-night  by  the  surgeons 
who  have  been  in  attendance  upon  the  late  President: 

By  previous  arrangement  the  post  mortem  examination  of  the 
body  of  President  Garfield  was  made  this  afternoon  in  the  pres 
ence  and  with  the  assistance  of  Drs.  Hamilton,  Agnew,  Bliss, 
Barnes,  Woodward,  Keyburn,  Andrew  H.  Smith,  of  Elberon,  and 
Acting  Assistant  Surgeon  D.  S.  Lamb,  of  the  Army  Medical 
Museum,  Washington. 

The  operation  was  performed  by  Dr.  Lamb. 

It  was  found  that  the  ball,  after  fracturing  the  right  eleventh 
rib,  had  passed  through  the  spinal  column  in  front  of  the  spinal 
canal,  fracturing  the  body  of  the  first  lumbar  vertebrae,  driving  a 
number  of  small  fragments  of  bone  into  the  adjacent  soft  parts, 
and  lodging  just  below  the  pancreas,  about  two  inches  and  a  half 
to  tha  left  of  the  spine  and  behind  the  peritoneum,  where  it  had 
become  completely  encysted. 

The  immediate  cause  of  death  was  secondary  hemorrhage  from 
one  of  the  mesenteric  arteries  adjoining  the  track  of  the  ball,  the 
blood  rupturing  the  peritoneum,  and  nearly  a  pint  of  blood  es 
caping  into  the  abdominal  cavity. 

This  hemorrhage  is  believed  to  have  been  the  cause  of  the 
ievere  pain  in  the  lower  part  of  the  chest,  complained  of  just 
before  death.  An  abscess  cavity,  six  inches  by  four  in  dimen 
sions,  was  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  gall  bladder,  between  the 
liver  and  the  transverse  colon,  which  were  strongly  inter-adherent 


THE  MOTHER  AND  HER  DEAD  SON.  193 

It  did  not  involve  the  substance  of  the  liver,  and  no  communica 
tion  was  found  between  it  and  the  wound. 

A  long  suppurating  channel  extended  from  the  external  wound 
between  the  loin  muscles  and  the  right  kidney  almost  to  the  right 
groin.  This  channel,  now  known  to  be  due  to  the  burrowing  of 
pus  from  the  wound,  was  supposed,  during  life,  to  have  been  the 
track  of  the  ball. 

On  examination  of  the  organs  of  the  chest,  evidences  of  severe 
bronchitis  were  found  on  both  sides,  with  broncho-pneumonia  of 
the  lower  portions  of  the  right  lung,  though  of  much  less  extent 
of  the  left. 

The  lungs  contained  no  abscesles  and  the  heart  no  clots.  The 
liver  was  enlarged  and  fatty,  but  free  from  abscesses; 'nor  were 
any  found  in  on«  other  organ,  except  the  left  kidney,  which  con 
tained  near  its  surface  a  small  abscess  about  one-third  of  an  inch 
in  diameter.  In  reviewing  the  history  of  the  case  in  connection 
with  the  autopsy,  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  different  suppu 
rating  surfaces,  and  especially  the  fractured  spongy  tissue  of  the 
vertebra,  furnish  sufficient  explanation  of  the  septic  condition 
which  existed.  D.  "W.  BLISS, 

J.  K.  BARNES, 
J.  J.  WOODWARD, 
ROBT.  REYBURN, 
FRANK  H.  HAMILTON, 
D.  HAYES  AGNEW, 
ANDREW  H.  SMITH, 
D.  S.  LAMB. 


The  Mother  and  Her  Dead  Son. 

Mother  Garfield,  who  was  at  Solon,  Ohio,  with  her  daugh 
ter  Mrs.  Larrabee,  watched  anxiously  for  the  6  o'clock  bul 
letin  Monday  evening,  feeling,  if  it  was  favorable,  that  she 
might  hope  on.  Worn  out  by  anxious  days  and  sleepless 
nights,  her  strength  became  so  exhausted  that  the  adminis 
tration  of  stimulants  was  found  necessary.  Though  hoping 
against  hope,  she  could  not  realize  that  her  son  was  in  im- 

18 


194  THE  MOTHER  AND  HER  DEAD  SON. 

mediate  danger.  "  He  will  live,"  she  said  but  yesterday. 
"  God  makes  so  few  men  like  him  that  he  will  not  take  them 
away  when  they  are  living  Jives  of  usefulness.  There  are 
so  many  who  are  of  no  use  to  any  one  who  live  on  that  1 
cannot  believe  God  will  take  my  James  away  when  he  is 
much  needed." 

Shortly  after  eight  o'clock  Tuesday  morning  Mrs.  Gar- 
field  arose,  and  after  dressing,  spent  some  time  reading  her 
Bible,  as  customary.  Then^he  went  into  the  dining-room 
where  her  breakfast  was  being  prepared.  Refreshed  by  a 
night  of  rest,  she  was  more  cheerful  than  for  several  days. 
Mr.  Larrabee,  unable  to  conceal  his  emotion,  left  the  room 
in  tears.  Mother  Garfield  walked  about,  looking  out  of  the 
windows.  Finally  she  tmrned  to  her  daughter,  saying  :  "  Is 
there  any  news  yet  this  morning,  Mary  ?"  Mrs.  Larra- 
bee's  heart  failed.  She  could  not  blast  the  hope  expressed 
in  that  voice  and  exhibited  in  that  dear  old  face. 

"  Eat  your  breakfast,  mother,  it  is  ready  now,"  she  said. 

"  But  I  want  to  hear  from  James  first,"  said  the  loving 
mother. 

The  telegram  that  was  soon  to  bring  grief  and  anguish  to 
her  hopeful  heart  lay  on  the  shelf,  and  seeing  it  she  took  it, 
and  was  about  to  read,  saying,  "  Here  it  is  now,  I  must  read 
it  before  I  eat." 

Her  grand-daughter,  Ellen  Larrabee,  fearing  that  so  sud 
den  a  shock  would  be  fatal,  took  the  dispatch  from  her  hand, 
and  said,  "  I  will  read  it  to  you  grandma.  Are  you  pre 
pared  for  bad  news  ?" 

"Why,  no,"  said  grandma,  "I  am  not  prepared  for  bad 
news,  and  there  isn't  any  bad  news  this  morning,  is  there  ?" 

"  Yes,  grandma." 

"Oh,  Nelly,  he  is  not — he  cannot  be  dead  ?" 

"Grandma,  his  spirit  passed  away  last  night." 

a  Oh,  it  cannot  be;  it  must  not  be.     I  cannot  have  it  so. 


THE  MOTHER  AND  HSR  DEAD  SON.      195 

My  James,  my  James  dead!     I  cannot  believe  yon.     Let 
me  see  the  dispatch." 

The  dispatch  read  as  follows: 

"  ELBERON,  N.  J.,  Sept.  19. 
«  Mrs.  Eliza  Qarjield : 

•*  James  died  this  evening  at  10:58.  He  calmly  breathed  his  life 
•way.  "  D.  G.  SWAIM." 

She  took  and  read  it,  dropped  the  message  on  the  floor, 
and  fell  backward  into  the  chair,  moaning  and  wringing  her 
hands,  and  bitter  tears  coursing  down  her  cheeks.  For 
some  time  she  gave  way  to  uncontrollable  grief,  but  at 
length  subdued  her  feelings  in  a  measure. 

Mother  Garfield  then  said:  "  To-morrow  I  will  be  eighty 
years  old,  but  I  will  not  see  the  beginning  of  another  year ; 
James  is  gone,  and  I  shall  not  be  long  after  him." 

After  that  she  succeeded  in  somewhat  controlling  her 
emotions  until  the  arrival  of  James  Palmer,  husband  of  a 
grand-daughter  now  dead,  a  daughter  of  Mrs.  Larrabee. 
When  he  entered  she  again  burst  into  tears,  and  between 
sobs  repeated,  over  and  over,  in  her  anguish:  "  He  is  gone; 
he  is  gone.  O,  I  cannot  have  it  so." 

When  the  morning  paper  arrived,  although  advised  by 
her  daughter  not  to  read  it,  she  insisted  on  it,  and  eagerly 
scanned  the  dispatches  for  awhile,  and  then,  throwing  it 
down,  exclaimed,  "  I  cannot  read  any  more." 

Then  she  went  to  her  room  and  laid  down,  but  soon  arose 
and  requested  a  grand-daughter  to  read  to  her  further, 
listening  with  blinded  eyes  and  a  breaking  heart,  making 
noble  effort  to  restrain  her  emotions. 

During  the  afternoon  somebody  remarked  to  her  that  it 
seemed  very  still  to-day. 

k' Still  ?"  responded  she.  u  Yes,  but  it  is  the  stillness  of 
death." 

Mr.  Larrabee,  the  President's  brother-in-law,  said  he  had 
known  James  A.  Garfield  since  he  was  three  years  old,  and 


1WJ  IN  THE  FRANCKLYN  COTTAGE. 

added:  "One  thing  gives  me  slight  comfort  to-day — my  be 
lief  that  he  was  a  sincere  and  earnest  Christian  if  ever  there 
was  one. 


In  the  Francklyn  Cottage  at  Long  Branch. 

At  half-past  nine  o'clock  Chief  Justice  Waite,  Secretary 
and  Mrs.  Elaine,  Secretary  and  Mrs.  Windom,  Secretary 
and  Mrs.  Hunt,  Postmaster-General  and  Mrs.  James,  and 
Secretaries  Lincoln  and  Kirkwood,  and  Attorney-General 
McVeagh  arrived  at  the  Francklyn  Cottage,  and  the  doors 
were  closed  to  visitors.  Religious  services  were  conducted 
by  the  Rev.  Charles  J.  Young,  of  Long  Branch,  at  the  re 
quest  of  Mrs.  Garfield.  There  were  present,  besides  the 
family  and  their  attendants,  members  of  the  Cabinet,  their 
wives,  and  a  few  personal  friends,  numbering  in  all  not 
more  than  fifty.  When  the  moment  for  the  services  was 
announced,  the  windows  and  doors  were  closed,  and  the 
most  solemn  silence  prevailed. 

"  The  Scripture  reads,!'  said  the  pastor,  "  Blessed  are  the 
dead  who  die  in  the  Lord.  Yea,  saith  the  spirit,  that  they 
may  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their  works  do  follow 
them."  u  We  know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this  taber 
nacle  were  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God — a  house 
not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  Heavens.  Therefore, 
we  are  also  confident  of  knowing  that  whilst  we  are  at  home 
in  the  body  we  are  absent  from  the  Lord.  We  are  confi 
dent,  I  say,  and  willing,  rather,  to  be  absent  from  the  body, 
and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord.  For  me  to  live  is  Christ, 
and  to  die  is  gain.  I  am  in  the  strait  betwixt  the  two, 
having  a  desire  to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ,  which  IB 


IN  THE  FRANC KLYN  COTTAGE.  107 

far  better.  There  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and 
there  the  weary  are  at  rest;  and  there  shall  be  no  more 
death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying;  neither  shall  there  be  any 
more  pain;  and  there  shall  be  no  night  there,  and  they 
need  no  candle,  neither  the  light  of  the  sun,  for  God  giveth 
them  light,  and  they  shall  reign  forever  and  ever.  Behold, 
I  show  you  a  mystery.  We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we 
shall  all  be  changed  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye,  at  the  last  trump.  For  this  corruptible  must  put  on 
incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immortality. 
So  when  this  corruptible  shall  have  put  on  incorrup 
tion,  and  this  mortal  shall  have  put  on  immortality, 
then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  writ 
ten:  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory.  O  death,  where  is 
thy  sting?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?  The  sting  of 
death  is  sin;  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law;  but  thanks  be 
to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory,  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Ohrist.  Let  us  pray. 

THE  PRAYER. 

O,  Thou,  who  walked  through  the  grave  of  Bethany — 
that  open  grave  of  the  brother  in  Bethany!  O,  Thou,  who 
hadst  compassion  on  the  widow  of  Nain— she  bore  her  be 
loved  dead!  O,  Thou,  who  art  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever;  in  whom  is  no  variableness  nor  shadow  of 
turning!  have  mercy  upon  us  in  this  hour,  when  our  souls 
have  nowhere  else  to  fly.  But  we  fly  to  Thee.  Thou 
knowest  these  sorrows  that  we  bow  under.  O,  Thou  God 
of  the  widow,  help  the  stricken  heart  before  Thee.  Help 
these  children,  and  those  that  are  not  here.  Be  their  father. 
Help  her  in  the  distant  State  who  watched  over  him  in 
childhood.  Help  this  Nation  that  is  to-day  bleeding  arid 
bowed  in  sorrow  before  Thee.  Oh,  sanctify  this  heavy 
chastisement  to  its  good.  Help  those  associated  with  him 


106  THE  BODY  IN  8TATB  AT  WASHINGTON. 

in  the  Government.  O  Lord,  grant  from  the  darkness  of 
this  night  of  sorrow  there  may  arise  a  better  day  for  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  man.  We  thank  Thee  for  the 
record  of  life  that  is  closed;  for  its  heroic  devotion  to  prin 
ciple.  We  thank  Thee,  O  Lord,  that  he  was  Thy  servant; 
that  he  preached  Thee  by  a  noble  life  and  example,  and 
that  we  can  say  of  him  now,  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die 
in  the  Lord;  their  works  do  follow  them."  Now,  Lord,  go 
with  this  sorrowing  company  in  this  last  sad  journey. 
Bear  them  up  and  strengthen  them.  O  God,  bring  us  aD 
at  last  to  the  morning  that  has  no  shadows;  the  house  that 
has  no  tears;  the  land  that  has  no  death;  for  Christ's  sake. 
Amen." 


The  Body  in  State  in  the  Rotunda  at  Washington. 

The  day  was  very  warm,  and  the  sun  poured  down  with 
out  mercy  on  those  who  stood  in  the  line  waiting  their  turn 
to  enter  the  rotunda.  By  1  o'clock  the  double  line  was 
over  half  a  mile  long.  From  the  door  of  the  rotunda  two 
ropes  extended  across  the  porch  and  formed  a  passageway 
beginning  a  hundred  feet  from  the  foot  of  the  steps.  From 
this  point  the  line  continued  in  a  serpentine  course,  zigzag 
ging  back  and  forth,  until  it  reached  a  street,  and  then  ran 
from  First  to  Second  streets.  By  reason  of  the  curious  wind 
ing  form  of  this  closely  packed  double  column,  its  actual 
length  was  more  than  twice  that  of  the  distance  in  a  direct 
line  which  was  covered.  As  the  crowds  continued  to  arrive, 
they  either  took  their  places  at  the  end  of  the  line  as  it 
moved  slowly  along,  or  formed  part  of  the  great  multitude 
of  onlookers  who,  on  account  of  the  great  length  of  the  line, 
had  despaired  of  entering  it. 


THE  BODY  IN  STATE  AT  WASHINGTON.  1W 

It  was  a  motley  throng.  More  than  half  of  those  who 
stood  here  for  hours  and  reached  the  Capitol  by  slow  shuf 
fling  steps  over  the  asphalt,  were  black. 

There  were  men,  women,  children,  and  infants  in  arms, 
the  infirm  and  aged  cripples  from  the  war,  some  of  them 
wearing  badges  of  service,  and  ladies  in  Swiss  muslin 
dresses,  and  young  girls  in  pretty  costumes,  along  with 
ragged  street  urchins  and  a  few  tramps.  The  weak  and 
crippled  old  darkies  in  whose  faces  reverence  and  awe  were 
expressed,  hobbled  on  crutches  and  canes  with  difficulty  up 
the  broad  marble  steps. 

The  sight  of  their  sincere  mourning  was  pathetic.  There 
was  no  levity,  and  but  little  conversation  as  the  patient 
line  dragged  its  slow  length  along.  Those  who  early  in 
the  morning  started  at  the  extremity  of  the  line  did  not 
reach  the  rotunda  until  three  weary  hours  later,  and  yet 
they  moved  along  up  the  steps  of  the  Capitol  at  the  rate  of 
6,000  persons  an  hour,  and  this  was  continued  from  very 
early  in  the  morning  all  through  the  hot  day. 

It  is  believed  that  over  one  hundred  thousand  persons 
viewed  the  remains  of  the  late  President  while  they  lay  in 
the  rotunda. 

A  short  time  before  the  coffin  was  closed,  Mrs.  Secretary 
Elaine  and  Mrs.  Secretary  "Windom  entered  the  rotunda 
and  viewed  the  remains.  Both  were  shocked  at  the  change, 
and  suggested  to  the  gentlemen  composing  the  guard  of 
honor  that  the  casket  be  closed  at  once.  This,  they  re 
plied,  could  not  be  done  without  an  order  from  the  Cabinet. 
In  a  short  time  the  order  came.  Two  thousand  were  in 
line,  and  for  half  an  hour  they  continued  to  pass  the  bier 
before  it  became  generally  known  among  the  throng  out 
side  that  the  face  could  no  longer  be  seen.  When  the  coffin 
lid  was  closed  the  beautiful  floral  offering  of  Queen  Victoria 
was  placed  above  it. 


100       SERVICES  AT  THE  VAULT  IN  CLEVELAND. 
Services  at  the  Vault  in  Cleveland. 

THE    SCENE. 

The  State  militia  were  stationed  at  the  entrance  to  the 
cemetery  and  on  either  side  of  the  driveways  leading  to  the 
vault.  The  steps  leading  to  the  vault  were  carpeted  with 
flowers,  and  on  either  side  of  the  entrance  were  an  anchor 
of  tuberoses  and  a  cross,  while  smilax  and  evergreens  were 
festooned  above.  A  heavy  black  canopy  was  stretched  over 
the  steps  from  which  the  exercises  were  to  be  conducted. 
At  3:30  o'clock  the  procession  entered  the  gateway,  which 
was  arched  over  with  black,  with  appropriate  inscriptions. 
In  the  keystone  were  the  words :  "  Come  to  rest."  On  one 
side  were  the  words:  "Lay  him  to  rest  whom  we  have 
learned  to  love."  On  the  other:  "Lay  him  to  rest  whom 
we  have  learned  to  trust."  A  massive  cross  of  evergreens 
iwung  from  the  centre  of  the  arch. 

The  United  States  Marine  Band,  continuing  the  sweet 
mournful  strains  it  had  kept  up  during  the  entire  march, 
entered  first.  Then  came  the  Forest  City  Troop,  of  Cleve 
land,  which  was  the  escort  of  the  President  to  his  inaugura 
tion.  Behind  it  came  the  funeral  car  with  its  escorts  of 
twelve  United  States  artillerymen,  followed  by  a  battalion 
of  Knights  Templar  and  the  Cleveland  Grays.  The 
mourners'  carriages  and  those  containing  the  guard  of 
honor  comprised  all  of  the  procession  that  entered  the 
grounds.  The  cavalry  halted  at  the  vault  and  drew  up  in 
line,  facing  it  with  sabres  presented. 

At  3 :30  the  great  funeral  car  drawn  to  the  front  and  a 
little  beyond  the  vault.  The  twelve  black  horses,  covered 
with  heavy  folds  of  black  drapery  move  so'  slowly  that  the 
tread  of  their  feet  can  hardly  be  heard,  and  the  wheels  of 
the  huge  somber  cab  pass  noiselessly  over  the  soft  road 
way. 


SERVICES  AT  THE  VAULT  IN  CLEVELAND.       201 

All  that  is  left  now  to  complete  the  final  act  of  the  great 
tragedy  occupies  but  twenty-five  minutes,  and  the  scene  is 
as  solemnly  sad  as  the  burial  of  the  great  dead  must  be,  but 
fitly.  It  happens  that  no  manifestations  of  violent  grief 
disturb  the  last  scene  in  the  burial  of  this  pure  and  gentle 
man. 

The  carriage,  which  carries  on  one  seat,  side  by  side,  the 
mother  and  the  wife  of  the  President,  and  on  the  front  seat 
three  of  his  boys,  Harry,  Jimmie,  and  the  little  Abram,  is 
drawn  up  on  the  carpet  of  flowers  at  the  very  door  of  the 
vault.  Harry  and  Jimmie,  the  two  older  boys,  get  out  and 
stand  upon  either  side  of  the  carriage  doorway,  with  faces 
that  are  so  white  as  to  startle  those  who  look  upon  them. 
They  remain  motionless  as  they  watch  the  coffin  of  their 
father  carried  to  its  resting-place.  Mrs.  Garfielcl  takes  the 
vacant  seat,  and  side  by  side  the  face  of  the  grand  old 
mother  and  the  brave  wife  are  seen  in  the  open  doorway  of 
the  carriage.  As  the  military  escort  lifts  the  coffin  from 
the  car  the  band  play  "  Nearer  My  God  to  Thee."  They 
watch  with  strained  eyes  the  passage  of  the  body  to  the 
tomb  and  until  it  is  lost  to  sight  within,  when  Mrs.  Gar- 
field  drops  her  veil  and  sinks  back  upon  her  seat,  but  the 
old  mother  still  watches  at  the  window,  and  her  beautiful 
but  calm,  sweet  face,  is  a  picture  there  which  the  people 
watch  in  loving,  sympathetic  interest  until  the  benediction 
is  pronounced. 

After  the  body  is  laid  upon  its  bower  of  roses,  the  pall 
bearers  range  themselves  upon  each  side  of  the  raised  en 
trance  to  the  vault.  Behind  them  upon  the  right  Mr. 
Elaine  stands,  with  a  few  Senators  and  others  who  were  in 
the  near  carriages.  In  front  of  this  line  Swaim,  Rockwell, 
*nd  Corbin  stand,  nearest  Marshal  Henry,  who  is  one  of  the 
pall-bearerg.  Harry  and  Jimmie  leave  their  mother's  car 
riage  and  remain  near  them.  On  the  other  side,  behind  the 


202       SERVICES  AT  THE  VAULT  IN  CLEVELAND. 

opposite  line  of  pall-bearers  Hinsdale,  Errett,  and  Jones 
are  seen,  while  on  the  lower  ground  to  the  right  C.  O 
Rockwell  and  wife,  Mrs.  Garficld's  sister,  arid  Dr.  Boynton 
take  position.  The  rest  of  the  relatives  and  friends  remain 
in  their  carriages  under  the  drizzling  rain.  From  one  of 
them,  near  Mrs.  Garfield,  the  calm,  restful  face  of  her 
father,  Uncle  Zeb  Rudolph,  can  be  seen. 

The  ceremonies  which  followed  were  of  the  briefest  kind. 
It  is  a  subject  oi  congratulation  among  all  that  the  last  mo 
ments  at  the  cemetery  were  so  quiet  and  full  of  gentle  silence, 
It  was  not  to  Mrs.  Garfield  the  burial  of  her  husband. 
Sometime  she  will  bury  him,  when  he  shall  be  taken  from 
the  vault,  and  unattended  by  pomp  or  the  presence  of  the 
curious  multitude,  and  laid  in  his  last  resting  place.  She 
only  saw  him  laid  upon  a  bed  of  flowers,  to  stop  a  little 
longer  before  he  is  laid  on  the  high  hill  near  by  that  she 
has  chosen  for  the  long  rest. 

J.  H.  Robinson,  as  President  of  the  day,  opened  the  ex 
ercises  by  introducing  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Jones,  Chaplain  of 
the  Forty-second  Regiment  O.  V.  Infantry,  which  General 
Garfield  commanded,  as  follows:  "The  Rev.  J.  H.  Jones, 
the  Chaplain  of  the  Forty-second  Regiment,  who  went  out 
with  General  Garfield,  will  offer  some  remarks."  Mr. 
Jones  said: 

THE  CHAPLAIN'S  ADDRESS. 

Our  illustrious  friend  has  completed  his  journey's  end,  a 
journey  that  we  must  all  soon  make,  and  that  in  the  near 
future;  yet,  when  I  see  the  grand  surroundings  of  this  oc 
casion  I  am  led  to  enquire  was  this  man  the  son  of  an 
emperor,  of  the  king  that  wore  a  crown,  for  in  the  history 
of  this  great  country  there  has  been  nothing  like  this  seen 
by  the  people,  and  perhaps  no  other  country.  Yet  I 
thought,  perhaps,  speaking  after  the  manner  of  men,  that 


SERVICES  AT  THE  VAULT  IN  CLEVELAND.      208 

he  was  a  prince,  and  this  was  offered  in    a  manner  after 
royalty. 

He  was  not,  my  friends.  It  is  not  an  offering  of  a  king, 
it  is  not  as  we  are  taught  an  offering  to  earthly  kings  and 
emperors.  Though  he  was  a  prince  and  a  freeman,  the 
great  commoner  of  the  United  States,  only  a  few  miles  from 
where  we  stand,  less  than  fifty  years  ago,  he  was  born  in  the 
primeval  forests  of  this  State  and  in  this  county,  and  all 
he  asks  of  you  now  is  a  peaceful  grave  in  the  bosom  of  the 
land  that  gave  him  birth. 

I  cannot  speak  to  you  of  his  wonderful  life  and  his  work. 
Time  forbids  and  history  will  take  care  of  that,  and  your 
children's  children  will  read  of  this  emotion  when  we  have 
passed  away  from  this  earth,  but  let  me  say  when  I  was 
permitted  with  these  honorable  men  to  go  to  Pittsburg  as 
a  committee  to  receive  his  mortal  remains,  I  saw  from  that 
city  to  Cleveland  hundreds  and  thousands  of  people,  and 
many  of  them  in  tears,  and  this  reflection  came  to  me,  that 
there  was  a  dearth  over  the  lands.  The  soil  for  500  miles 
was  moistened  with  tears,  as  we  passed  from  the  city  of 
Washington  to  Cleveland.  Then  I  asked  myself  the  mean 
ing  of  all  this,  for  I  saw  the  workingmen  come  out  of  the 
rolling-mills,  with  dust  and  smoke  all  over  their  faces,  their 
heads  uncovered,  with  the  tears  rolling  down  their  brawny 
cheeks. 

With  bated  breath  I  asked:  What  is  the  meaning  of  all 
this?  because  it  casts  down  a  workinginan.  He  was  a 
workingman  himself,  for  he  has  been  a  worker  from  his 
birth  almost.  He  has  fought  his  way  through  life  at  every 
step,  and  the  workinginan  he  took  by  the  hand,  and  there 
was  sympathy  and  brotherhood  between  them.  I  saw,  in 
small  cottages  as  well  as  in  spler»did  mansions,  drapings  on 
the  shutters,  and  may  have  been  the  only  vail  which  the  poor 
woman  had,  and  with  tears  in  her  eyes  she  saw  us  pass.  I 


204       SERVICES  AT  THE  VAULT  IN  CLEVELAND. 

asked.  "Why,  what  interest  has  this  poor  woman  in  this 
man?  She  had  read  that  lie  was  born  in  a  cabin,  arid  that 
when  he  got  old  enough  to  work  in  the  beech  woods  he 
helped  to  support  his  widowed  mother. 

Then  I  saw  the  processions  and  the  colleges  pour  out. 
The  local  professions  attended,  and  there  were  civic  societies 
and  military  all  concentrated  here,  and  he  has  touched  them 
all  in  his  passage  thus  far  through  life,  and  you  feel  that 
he  is  a  brother.  He  is,  therefore,  a  brother  to  you  in  all 
these  regards,  but  when  a  man  dies  his  work  usually  fol 
lows  him.  When  we  sent  General  Garfield  to  the  Capitol 
at  "Washington  he  weighed  210  pounds.  He  had  a  soul 
that  loved  his  race;  a  splendid  intellect  that  almost  bent 
the  largest  form  to  bear  it.  You  bring  him  back  to  us  a 
mere  handful  of  some  eighty  pounds,  mostly  of  bones,  in 
that  casket. 

Now,  I  ask  you  why  is  this?  I  do  not  stop  to  talk  about 
the  man  that  did  the  deed.  "  Vengeance  is  mine,  saith 
the  Almighty  God;  I  will  repay."  He  sees  the  terrors  of 
a  scaffold  before  him,  probably,  and  the  eternal  disgrace 
that  falls  to  the  murderer  and  the  assassin,  and  he  is  going 
down  to  the  judgment  of  God  and  the  frowns  of  the  world. 

But  where  is  James  A.  Garfield  that  we  lent  to  you 
seven  months  ago?  Many  of  you  were  there  at  the  time  of 
his  inauguration,  and  witnessed  the  grandest  pageant  that 
ever  passed  in  front  of  the  Capitol,  and  the  grandest  that 
was  ever  had  in  the  Nation  was  had  on  that  occasion,  and 
now  comes  that  unwelcome  but  splendid  exhibition  that 
will  be  read  of  all  over  the  world  with  regret.  For  Secre 
tary  Elaine,  in  a  business-like  manner,  to-day  made  out 
that  there  were  at  least  300,000,000  ot  people  of  the  world 
mourning  the  death  of  President  Garfield  and  offering  us 
sympathy.  But  where  is  he?  Here  is  all  that  is  left  of 
him,  the  grand,  the  bright,  and  brilliant  man.  Now  that 


SERVICES  AT  THE  VAULT  IN  CLEVELAND.       205 

soul  mat  ioved,  that  mind  that  thought,  and  has  impressed 
itself  upon  the  world,  must  come  back,  for  if  thoughts  live 
will  that  precious  thought  cease  to  be  dead.  In  reason  he 
speaks  and  in  example  lives.  His  thoughts  and  mighty 
deeds  still  flourish  in  structure.  We  shall  get  him  back, 
fellow  citizens. 

In  conversation  with  the  one  nearest  and  dearest  to  him, 
she  said,  when  she  thought  of  his  relations  as  a  husband 
and  as  a  son  and  as  a  statesman,  having  reached  the  highest 
pinnacle  to  which  man  can  be  elevated  by  the  free  suffrage 
of  our  50,000,000  people,  there  was  no  promotion  for  her 
beloved  but  for  God  to  call  him  home.  He  has  received 
that  promotion. 

He  believed  in  the  immortality,  not  only  of  the  soul,  b.ut 
of  the  body  and  that  the  grave  will  give  up  the  dead.  He 
must  live,  and,  my  friends,  tha*t  was  the  hope  that  sustained 
him.  I  was  with  him  in  the  war,  and  the  enemy  never  saw 
his  back.  He  was  fortunate  in  that  every  contest  he  was 
on  the  victorious  side,  but  the  grandest  fight  he  ever  made 
was  in  the  last  eighty  days  of  his  existence,  fought  not  be 
cause  he  himself  personally  expected  to  live,  but  the  doc 
tors  told  him  to  hope. 

He  loved  his  wife  and  children,  and  he  hoped.  "  I  am 
not  afraid  to  die,  but  I  will  try,"  said  he,  u  to  live,"  and 
then  he  was  not  conquered  even  except  by  simple  exhaus 
tion.  It  seems  to  me  that  no  good  man  by  the  name  of 
Abraham  can  be  the  President  of  the  United  States  and 
can  be  long  out  of  Abraham's  bosom,  for  both  of  them  have 
been  called,  and  early,  too,  to  the  paradise  of  God,  and  his 
spirit  looks  down  upon  us  to-day,  and  he  is  in  the  society 
of  Washington  and  Lincoln  and  the  immortal  hosts  of  pat 
riots  that  stood  for  their  country. 

Let  me  say,  in  conclusion,  there  was  a  man  in  ancient 
Biblical  history  that  killed  more  in  his  death  than  he  did 


206       SERVICES  AT  THE  VAULT  IN  CLEVELAND. 

in  his  life,  and  I  believe  that  to  be  true  with  James  Abram 
Garfield,  I  doubt  whether  there  is  a  page  that  equals  this 
in  sympathy  and  love,  not  only  in  this  country,  but  all 
over  the  world.  Have  you  ever  read  anything  like  this. 
You,  brethren,  here  of  the  South,  I  greet  you  to-day,  and 
you  brethren  of  the  North,  East,  and  West.  Come,  let  us 
lay  all  our  bitterness  up  in  the  coffin  of  the  dead  man.  Let 
him  carry  them  with  him  to  the  grave  in  silence,  till  the 
angels  disturb  the  slumbers.  -Let  us  love  each  other  more, 
our  country  better.  May  God  bless  you  and  the  dear  fam 
ily,  and,  as  they  constitute  a  great  family  on  earth,  I  hope 
they  will  constitute  a  great  family  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  where  I  hope  to  meet  you  all  in  the  end. 

At  the  close  of  Jones'  address  the  venerable  Dr.  Eobin- 
eon  announced  that  the  hymn  which  was  General  Garfield's 
favorite,  "  Ho,  Reapers  of  Eife's  Harvest,"  would  be  sung, 
and,  as  the  melody  of  the  grand  old  song  rings  and  echoes 
among  the  forests  and  hills,  it  falls  upon  the  ears  of  all. 

GARFIELD'S  FAVORITE  HYMN. 
Ho,  reapers  of  life's  harvest. 

Why  stand  with  rusted  blade 
Until  the  night  draws  round  tnee 

And  the  day  begins  to  fade? 

Why  stand  ye  idle  waiting 

For  reapers  more  to  come  ? 
The  golden  morn  is  passing, 

Why  sit  ye  idle,  dumb? 

Thrust  in  your  sharpened  sickle 

And  gather  in  the  grain; 
The  night  is  fast  approaching 

And  noon  will  come  again. 

The  Master  calls  for  reapers,  >; 

And  shall  he  call  in  vain  ? 
Shall  sheaves  lie  there  ungathered 

And  waste  upon  the  plain  ? 


SERVICES  AT  THE  VAULT  IN  CLEVELAND.      207 

Mount  up  the  heights  of  wisdom 

And  crush  each  error  low ; 
Keep  back  no  words  of  knowledge 

That  human  hearts  should  know. 

Be  faithful  to  thy  mission 

In  service  of  thy  Lord, 
And  then  a  golden  ehaplet 

Shall  be  thy  just  reward. 

Once  during  Chaplain  Jones'  address,  and  in  the  midst 
of  his  masterly  review  of  the  march  of  the  dead  from  the 
log  cabin  to  the  Presidency,  the  face  of  Mrs.  Garfield 
appeared  at  the  window  by  the  side  of  the  mother  of 
Garfield,  and  both  looked,  with  calm,  clear  eyes,  upon  the 
speaker  as  he  told  the  story  of  their  hero's  achievements. 

The  Latin  Ode  from  Horace  was  then  sung  as  follows, 
by  the  United  German  Society: 

Integer  vitae  scelerisque  purus 
Non  eget  Mauris  jaculis  neque  arcu, 
Nee  venenatis  gravida.sagittis, 

Fusee,  pharetra, 
Sive  per  Syrtes  iter  aestuosas, 
Sive  facturus  per  inhospitalem 
Caucasum,  vel  quae  loca  fabulosus 

Lambit  Hydaspes. 
Namque  me  silva  lupus,  in  Sabina, 
Dum  meum  canto  Lalagen  et  ultra 
Terminum  curis  vagor  expeditis. 

Fugit  inerrnem: 

Quale  portentum  neque  militaris 
Daunias  latis  alit  aesculetis, 
Nee  Jubae  tellus  generat,  leonum 

Arida  nutrix. 

Pone  me  pigris  ubi  nil  lie  campis 
Arbor  aestiva  recreatur  aura, 
Quod  latus  mundi  mibulae  malusque 

Jupiter  urget. 

Pone  sub  curru  minium  propinqui 
Soils,  in  terra  domibus  riegata; 
Dulce  ridentem  Lalagen  amabo, 
Dulce  loquentem. 


208       HKUVIVE3  AT  THK   VAULT  IN  CLEVELAND. 

The  following  is  a  literal  translation  of  the  ode: 
The  man  of  upright  life  and  pure  from  wickedness,  O  FUSCU& 
has  no  need  of  the  Moorish  javelins  or  bow,  or  quiver  loaded  with 
poisoned  darts.  Whether  he  is  about  to  make  his  journey  through 
the  sultry  Syrtes  or  the  inhospitable  Caucasus,  or  those  places 
which  Hydaspes,  celebrated  in  story,  washes.  For  lately,  as  I  was 
singing  my  Lalage,  and  wandered  beyond  my  usual  bounds, devoid 
of  care,  a  wolf  in  the  Sabine  wood  fled  from  me,  though  I  was 
unarmed ;  such  a  monster  as  neither  the  warlike  Apulia  nourishes 
in  its  extensive  woods,  nor  the  land  of  Juba,  the  dry  nurse  of 
lions,  produces.  Place  me  in  those  barren  plains,  where  no  tree 
is  refreshed  by  the  genial  air;  at  that  part  of  the  world  which 
clouds  and  an  inclement  atmosphere  infest.  Place  me  under  the 
chariot  of  the  too-neighboring  sun.  in  the  land  deprived  of  habita 
tion,  there  will  I  love  rny  sweetly-smiling,  sweetly-speaking 
Lalage. 

Mr.  Robinson  then  announced  the  late  President's  hymn, 
"  Ho,  Reapers  of  Life's  Harvest,"  which  the  German  vocal 
societies  of  Cleveland  sang  with  marked  effect. 

The  exercises  closed  with  the  benediction  by  President 
Hinsdale,  of  Hiram  College,  who  was  introduced '  by  Dr. 
Robinson,  as  follows:  "  Friends  and  Fellow-Citizens:  From 
the  heart-broken  friends  of  the  deceased,  I  tender  you  their 
thanks.  Mr.  Hinsdale,  will  you  dismiss?" 

Mr.  Hinsdale  said: 

"  Oh,  God,  the  sole  experience  of  this  day  teaches  us  the 
truth  of  what  Thou  hast  told  us  in  Thy  word.  The  grave 
is  the  last  of  the  world  and  the  end  of  life.  Earth  to 
earth,  dust  to  dust,  ashes  to  ashes.  But  we  love  the  doc 
trine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  in  the  power  of 
the  endless  life  therefrom.  Oh  God,  our  Father,  we  look 
to  Thee  now  for  the  greatest  blessing.  We  pray  that  the 
fellowship  and  salvation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  our 
Savior,  and  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Con* 
forter,  may  be  with  all  who  have  been  in  to-day's  assembly. 
Amen." 

The  final  dirge  is  sung,  and  friends  and  relatives  standing 


THE  END.  209- 

by  move  nearer  to  the  sepulchre.  Blaine  steps  nervously 
to  the  very  door  of  the  vault,  and  his  white  face  is  pitiful 
evidence  of  the  agony  of  that  moment,  while  he  looks  for 
the  last  time  upon  even  the  casket  which  contains  the 
remains  of  him  who  was  both  friend  and  chief.  Mrs. 
Garfield  does  not  look  from  the  carriage;  perhaps  she  finds 
comfort  there  in  thoughts  of  the  quieter,  more  secluded 
hour,  when  she,  instead  of  the  Nation,  shall  bnry  the  man 
so  beloved. 

At  rest  at  last — the  hymn  is  done,  the  melody  is  hushedr 
the  doors  of  the  vault  are  noiselessly  closed.  President 
Burke  Hinsdale  reaches  out  his  hands  in  final  invocation 
for  Divine  support  and  pity,  and  it  is  the  end. 


The  End. 

J.  G.  HOLLAND. 


A  wasp  flew  out  upon  our  fairest  son 

And  stung  him  to  the  quick  with  poisoned  shaft; 

The  while  he  chatted  carelessly  and  laughed, 

And  knew  not  of  the  fateful  mischief  done. 

And  so  this  life,  amid  our  love  begun. 

Envenomed  by  the  insect's  hellish  craft, 

Was  drunk  by  death  in  one  long,  feverish  draught. 

And  he  was  lost — our  gracions,  priceless  one! 

Oh,  mystery  of  blind,  remorseless  fate! 

Oh,  cruel  and  of  a  most  causeless  hate! 

That  life  so  mean  should  murder  life  so  great! 

What  is  there  left  to  us  who  think  and  feel. 

Who  have  no  remedy  and  no  appeal, 

But  damn  the  wasp  and  crush  him  under  heel  ? 


210  THE   WORLD   WIDE  SYMPATHY. 

The  World  Wide  Sympathy. 

It  may  be  safely  said  that  the  death  of  President  Garfield 
called  forth  a  greater  expression  of  sympathy  from  the 
great  rulers  and  nations  of  the  earth,  from  eminent  persons, 
and  from  the  various  fraternities  and  associations  of  men, 
than  the  death  of  any  other  man.  And  this  is  uot  only  an 
evidence  of  the  great  worth  of  the  man,  but  also  an  evidence 
of  a  progressive  civilization.  It  is  estimated  that  over 
300,000,000  persons  mourned  the  death  of  James  A.  Gar- 
field.  The  following  are  a  few  of  the  dispatches  of  condo 
lence  • 

QUEEN  VICTORIA  TO  MRS.    GARFIELD. 

Words  cannot  express  the  deep  sympathy  I  feel  with  you.  May 
God  support  and  comfort  you,  as  He  alone  can. 

THE  QUEEN,  Balmoral. 

The  Queen  also  cabled  at  once  to  the  British  Minister  to 
have  a  floral  tribute  prepared  and  presented  in  her  name, 
It  was  soon  received  at  the  Capitol  and  placed  at  the  head  ot 
the  bier  of  the  President.  It  was  very  large,  and  was  an  ex- 
qui^ite  specimen  of  the  florist's  art.  It  was  composed  of 
white  roses,  smilax,  and  stepbanotis.  It  was  accompanied 
bv  a  mourning  card  bearing  the  following  inscription: 
"  Queen  Victoria,  to  the  memory  of  the  late  President 
Gartield — an  expression  of  her  sorrow  and  sympathy  with 
Mrs.  Garfield  and  the  American  Nation.  Sept.  22,  1881. J) 

GEN.  GRANT. 

NEW  YORK,  Sept.  19.—  Wayne  MacVeagh,  Long  Branch: 
Please  convey  to  the  bereaved  family  of  the  President  my  heart 
felt  sympathy  and  sorrow  for  them  in  their  deep  affliction.  A 
nation  will  mourn  with  them  for  the  loss  of  the  Chief  Magistrate 
so  recently  called  to  preside  over  its  destiny.  I  will  return  to 
Long  Branch  in  the  morning  to  tender  my  services,  if  they  can  be 
made  useful.  U.  S.  GRANT. 


AFFECTING   INCIDENTS.  211 

Affecting  Incidents. 

"  I  WANT    TO    SEE    MYSELF." 

After  a  rigor  had  passed  the  President  fell  asleep,  and 
although  his  pulse  was  still  beating  about  120,  yet  hia 
temperature  had  not  decreased  more  than  a  tenth  of  a 
degree  or  so  below  the  normal  point.  He  awoke  in  about 
twenty  minutes  and  said  to  Dr..  Bliss, 

"  Doctor,  I  feel  very  comfortable,  but  I  also  feel  dread 
fully  weak.  I  wish  you  would  give  me  the  hand-glass  and 
let  me  look  at  myself." 

Gen.  Swaim  said,  "  Oh  no,  don't  do  that,  General.  See 
if  you  cannot  get  some  sleep." 

"  I  want  to  see  myself,"  the  President  replied. 

Mrs.  Garfield  then  gave  him  the  hand-glass.  He  held  it 
In  a  position  which  enabled  him  to  see  his  face.  Mrs. 
Garfield,  Dr.  Bliss,  Dr.  Agnew,  Gen.  Swaim  and  Dr.  Boyn- 
ton  stood  around  the  bed,  saying  not  a  word,  but  looking 
at  the  President.  He  studied  the  reflection  of  his  own 
features.  At  length  he  wearily  let  the  glass  fall  upon  the 
counterpane,  and  with  a  sigh,  said  to  Mrs.  Garfield: 

"  Crete,  I  do  not  see  how  it  is  that  a  man  who  looks  as 
well  as  I  do  should  be  so  dreadfully  weak." 

"LITTLE  MOLLIE  FELL  OVER  LIKE  A  L^OQ." 

In  a  moment  or  two  he  asked  for  his  daughter  Mollie. 
They  told  him  that  she  would  come  to  see  him  later  in  the 
day.  He  said,  however,  that  he  wanted  to  see  her  at  once. 
Thereupon  Don  Rockwell  went  to  the  beach,  where  Misa 
Mollie  was  sitting  with  Miss  Rockwell,  and  told  her  that 
her  father  wanted  to  see  her.  When  the  child  went  into 


212  AFFECTING   INCIDENTS. 

the  room  she  kissed  her  father  and  told  him  that  she  was 
glad  to  see  that  he  was  looking  so  much  better. 

He  said,  "You  think  I  do  look  better,  Mollie  ?" 

She  said,  "I  do,  papa,"  and  then  she  took  a  chair  and  sat 
near  the  foot  of  the  bed. 

A  moment  or  two  after  Dr.  Boy n ton  noticed  that  she  waa 
swaying  in  the  chair.  He  stepped  up  to  her,  but  before  he 
could  reach  her  she  had  fallen  over  in  a  dead  faint  In 
falling,  her  face  struck  against  the  bed  post,  and  when  they 
raised  her  from  the  floor  she  was  not  only  unconscious,  but 
also  bleeding  from  the  contusion  she  had  received.  They 
carried  her  out  where  she  could  get  the  fresh  breeze  from 
the  ocean,  and  after  restoratives  were  applied  she  speedily 
recovered.  The  room  was  close,  the  windows  were  closed, 
and  Miss  Mollie  had  not  been  very  well,  and  all  these  causes 
combined  with  anxiety,  induced  the  fainting  fit. 

The  President,  they  thought,  had  not  noticed  what  had 
happened  to  his  petted  child,  for  he  seemed  to  have  sunk 
into  the  stupor  which  has  characterized  his  condition  much 
of  the  time.  But  when  Dr.  Boynton  came  back  into  the 
room  he  was  astonished  to  hear  the  President  say: 

"  Poor  little  Mollie;  she  fell  over  like  a  log.  What's  the- 
matter  ? " 

They  assured  the  President  that  the  fainting  fit  wa& 
caused  by  the  closeness  of  the  room,  and  that  she  was  quite 
restored.  He^  again  sank  into  a  stupor,  or  sleep,  which 
lasted  until  the  noon  examination.  This  stupor  was  not 
healthy  sleep.  The  President  frequently  muttered  and 
rolled  and  tossed  his  head  upon  the  pillow. 


GARFIELD'S  BIRTHPLACE  AND  EARLY  LIFE.     218 

Garfield's   Birthplace— How   It  Looked  on  the  Great  Day  of 

the  Funeral— Interesting  Incidents  in  Garfield's 

Early  Life. 

(Writtan  by  one  of  Garfleld's  most  Intimate  Friends,  at  Orange,  Ohio.] 

Here,  at  the  birth-place  of  Garfield,  what  memories 
sweep  over  us  when  we  recall  the  scenes  of  his  birth  and 
boyhood!  On  the  place  where  stood  the  log  hut  in  which 
lie  first  saw  the  light  is  a  pole  floating  a  flag  at  half-mast 
The  old  log  house  is  gone,  the  frame  house  that  succeeded 
it  is  gone,  and  now  all  that  marks  the  spot  where  James 
A.  Garfield  was  born,  fifty  years  ago,  is  a  whitewood  pole 
rising  from  the  green  fields.  All  around  are  the  groves  and 
fields  in  which  the  farmer's  boy  began  that  noble  history 
which  is  ended  so  abruptly,  so  cruelly. 

Here  he  was  born,  here  he  worked  in  the  field  by  day  and 
studied  by  night,  here  stood  the  log  school  house  where  he 
first  attended  school.  It  is  gone  now,  and  a  brick  one 
stands  in  its  place,  but  it  will  never  be  forgotten,  for  "  Gar- 
field  went  there  first  to  school." 

THE    FRIEND    OF    HIS   BOYHOOD. 

Next  to  the  field  in  which  the  national  colors  now  sadly 
Avave  is  the  farm  of  Mr.  Henry  Boynton,  Garfield's  cousin, 
and  a  brother  ot  Dr.  Boynton.  He  was  more  than  a  cousin. 
While  their  mothers  were  sisters  and  their  fathers  half- 
brothers,  there  was  another  tie  that  bound  them  more  close 
ly  than  the  bonds  of  kinship.  Amos  Boynton  was  all  to 
Garfield  that  a  father  could  be  after  the  death  of  his  father, 
when  James  was  but  over  a  year  of  age.  Henry  Boynton 
and  James  A.  Garfield  were  all  to  each  other  that  brothers 
could  be. 


214     QARFIELUS  BIRTHPLACE  AND  EARLY  LIFE. 

Mr.  Boynton  was  found  at  his  home  in  the  afternoon,, 
and  although  much  affected  by  the  tragic  death  of  the  loved 
companion  of  his  boyhood,  seemed  to  be  pleased  to  relate 
incidents  of  his  early  life. 

Mr.  Boynton  said:  James  and  I  were  constant  compan 
ions  from  the  time  that  he  was  old  enough  to  talk,  down  to 
the  time  that  he  went  into  active  political  life.  I  know, 
perhaps,  more  of  his  boyhood  and  early  manhood  than  any 
person.  In  our  boyhood  we  were  said  »to  bear  a  striking 
resemblance  to  each  other. 

HIS    EARLY    LIFE. 

James  was  always  noted  from  his  earliest  childhood  for 
his  desire  to  be  the  leader  in  whatever  he  undertook.  At 
school  he  was  never  satisfied  to  have  another  boy  ahead  of 
him,  but  would  strain  every  nerve  to  overtake  and  pass  one 
who  seemed  to  have  the  advantage  of  him,  and  always  suc 
ceeded  in  doing  so.  He  always  managed  to  be  the  leader, 
in  every  circle,  whether  it  was  social,  intellectual  or  moral. 
He  first  went  to  school  at  the  little  log  school  house  which 
stood  where  you  now  see  yonder  brick  school  building.  He- 
then  worked  mornings  and  nights  and  attended  school 
through  the  day.  One  little  incident  I  never  shall  forget. 
There  was  a  spelling  match  in  the  little  log  school  house  in 
which  James,  who  was  thirteen  years  old,  took  part.  The 
teacher  told  her  scholars  that  if  any  whispered  she  would 
send  them  home.  The  lad  standing  next  to  James  became- 
confused,  and  to  help  him,  James  told  him  how  to  spell  hi& 
word.  The  teacher  saw  this  and  said: 

"  James,  you  know  the  rule.     You  must  go  home." 
James  picked  up  his  cap  and  left.     In  a  very  few  seconds 
he  returned  and  took  his  place  in  the  class. 


GARFIELffS  BIRTHPLACE  AND  EARLY  LIFE.     215- 

"  Why,  how  is  this,  James?  I  told  you  to  go  home," 
said  the  teacher. 

"  I  know  it,  and  went  home,"  said  James. 

BEGINNING    AS    A    FARM    HAND. 

When  fourteen  years  old  he  began  working  as  a  farm 
laborer  for  Mr.  Daniel  Morse,  who  lived  near  here.  While 
working  here,  he  one  evening  remained  in  the  sitting  room 
to  listen  to  the  conversation  of  a  young  gentleman  who  had 
called  on  Miss  Morse,  Miss  Morse,  observing  him,  Jold 
him  it  was  time  for  servants  to  go  to  bed.  This  galled  his 
sensitive  feelings,  and  the  next  day  he  left  there,  telling  me 
that  some  day  he  would  show  them  that  he  was  not  to  be 
looked  down  upon, 

ON   THE   CANAL. 

He  now  went  to  work  on  the  canal,  with  Captain  Letcher 
for  a  master.  Soon  after  starting  at  this  work  he  whipped 
the  burly  Irishman,  Murphy,  as  you  have  heard  many  times, 
I  suppose.  An  incident  occurred  one  night  which  showed 
his  innate  love  of  justice.  One  night  when  approaching  a 
lock  he  was  called  on  by  the  captain  to  help  tight  the  crew 
of  another  boat,  which  had  reached  the  lock  at  nearly  ;the 
same  time,  for  the  first  use  of  it. 

'•  Who  has  the  right  to  it?"  asked  James,  as  he  prepared 
for  action. 

u  Well,  I  guess  they  have,  but  we  can  lick  them  and  get 
it,"  said  the  captain. 

James  drew  on  his  coat  again,  and  said:  u  No,  sir;  I 
won't  help  if  it  justly  belongs  to  them." 

He  staid  on  the  canal  but  a  short  time,  as  he  suffered  a 
severe  attack  of  fever  and  ague,  which  obliged  him  to  re 
turn  home.  All  winter  he  staid  at  home,  shaking  with. 


5J16  ASSASSINATION  RECORD  OF  RULERS. 

ague  chills,  but  studying  all  the  time.  Between  his  chills 
he  would  £0over  to  the  school  house  and  recite,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  term  stood  at  the  head  of  the  class.  In  the 
spring  he  intended  to  return  to  the  canal,  but  by  the  argu 
ments  and  advice  of  Mr.  Bates,  his  teacher,  was  persuaded 
to  give  up  this  idea  and  attend  school. 


Assassination  Record  of  Rulers  for  the  Last  Thirty  Years. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  attempts  upon  the  lives  oi  rul 
ers  since  1848: 

1848 — Nov.  26 — The  life  oi  the  Duke  of  Modena  was 
attempted. 

1849 — June  21 — The  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia  was  at 
tacked  at  Minden. 

1850 — June  28 — Robert  Pate,  an  ex-Lieutenant  in  the 
army,  attempted  to  assassinate  Queen  Victoria. 

1851— May  22 — Sefeloque,  a  workman,  shot  at  Frederick 
William  IV.,  King  of  Prussia,  and  broke  his  arm. 

1852 — Sept.  24 — An  infernal  machine  was  found  at  Mar 
seilles,  with  which  it  had  been  intended  to  destroy  JMapo- 
LBOII  111.  , 

1853 — Feb.  18 — The  Emperor  Francis  Joseph  of  Austria 
was  grievously  wounded  in  the  head  while  walking  on  the 
ramparts  at  Vienna,  by  a  Hungarian  tailor  named  Llbzens. 

1853 — April  lf> — An  attempt  on  the  life  oi  Victor  Em 
manuel  was  reported  to  the  Italian  Chamber. 

1853 — July  5 — An  attempt  was  made  to  kill  Naj.  oleon 
III.  as  he  was  enter-ing  the  Opera  Comique. 

1854-  March  20— Ferdinand  Charles  111.,  DIK  u  of 
Parma,  was  killed  by  an  unknown  man,  who  stabbed  him 
in  the  abdomen. 

1855 — April    28 — Napoleon    III.    was   iired  at   w    *he 


FQR  THE  LAST  THIRTY  YEARS.       217 

•Ohamps  Elysees  by  Giovanni  Pianeri. 

1856— April  28— Raymond  Fuentes  was  arrested  in  the 
act  of  firing' on  Isabella,  Queen  of  Spain. 

1856 Dec.  8 — Agesilas  Milano,  a  soldier,  stabbed  Fer 
dinand  III.  of  Naples  with  his  bayonet. 

1857— Aug.  7— Napoleon  III.  again.  Barcoletti,  Gib- 
aldi,  and  Grillo  were  sentenced  to  death  for  corning  from 
:  London  to  assassinate  him. 

1858— Jan.  14— Napoleon  III.  for  the  fifth  time.  Orsini 
and  his  associates  threw  fnlminating  bombs  at  him  as  he 
was  on  his  way  to  the  opera. 

1861— July  14 — King  William  of  Prussia  was  for  the 
iirst  time  shot  at,  by  Oscar  Becker,  a  student  of  Baden- 
Baden.  Becker  fired  twice  at  him,  but  missed  him. 

1861 Dec.  18 — A  student  named  Dossios  fired  a  pistol 

•at  queen    Amalia  of  Greece  (Princess  of   Oldenburg)  at 
Athens. 

1863 Dec.  24.— Four  more  conspirators  from  London 

against  the  life  of  Napoleon  III.  were  arrested  at  Paris. 

1865— April  14  — President  Lincoln  was  shot  by  J. 
Wilkes  Booth. 

1866 April  6 — A  Russian  named  Kavarasoff'attempted 

Czar  Alexander's  life  at  St.  Petersburg.     He  was  foiled  by 
a  peasant,  who  was  ennobled  for  the  deed. 

1867 The  Czar's  life  was  again  attempted  during  the 

great  Exposition,  at  a  review  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  at 
.Paris. 

1867— June  19 — Maximilian  shot. 

1868— June  10— Prince  Michael  of  Servia  was  killed  by 
the  brothers  Radwarowitch. 

1871— The  lite  of  Amadeus,  then  newly  king  of  Spain, 
was  attempted. 

1872 August — Col.   Gutieriez   assassinated   President 

Balla,  of  the  Republic  of  Peru. 


2J8  ASSASSINATION  RECORD  OF  RULERS 

1873 — Jan.  1 — President  Morales,  of  Bolivia,  was  assas 
sinated 

1875— August — President  Garcia  Maeno,  of  Ecuador, 
was  assassinated.  ,. . 

1877 — June — President  Gill,  of  Paraguay,  was  assassin 
ated  by  Commander  Molas* 

1878 — May  11 — The  Emperor  William,  of  Germany,  \vas 
shot  at  again,  this  time  by  Emile  Henri  Max  Hoedel^  alias 
Lehmann,  the  Socialist.  Lehman  tired  three  shots  at , .the 
Emperor,  who  was  returning  from  a  drive  with  the  Grand 
Duchess  of  Baden,  but  missed  him. 

1878 — June  '2 — Emperor  "William  shot  at  by  Dr.  Hobil- 
ing,  while  out  riding.  He  received  about  thirty  small  shots 
in  the  neck  and  face. 

1878 — April  14 — Attempted  assasination  of  the  Czar  at 
St.  Petersburg,  by  one  Solojew.  He  was  executed  May  9. 

1870  —  Dec.  .1 — The  assassination  of  the  Czar  attempted 
by  a  mine  under  a  train  near  Moscow. 

187'J — Dec.  30 — The  King  of  Spain  was  shot  at  while 
driving  with  the  Queen. 

1880 — Feb.  IT— Attempt  to  kill  the  lioyal  family  of  Eus- 
sia  by  blowing  up  the  Winter  Palace.  Eight  soldiers  killed 
and  forty-five  Vounded. 

1881— March  14— The  Czar  killed  by  a  bomb. 

1881 — July  2 — President  Gartield  shot  by  C.  J.  Guiteau, 
an  eccentric  lawyer  of  doubtful  sanity,  who  is  said  to  have 
been  born  at  Freeport,  111.,  and  who  was  licensed  at  the  bar 
in  Chicago. 


ASSASSINATION 

OF 

PRESIDENT    LINCOLN, 


The  attempted  assassination  of  Gen.  Gartield  naturally 
recalls  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  and  will  go 
down  to  posterity  allied  to  that  terrible  event.  The  par 
ticulars  of  that  dreadful  tragedy  are  as  follows: 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  Friday,  April  14,  1865,  that  President 
and  Mrs.  Lincoln,  with  Miss  Mary  Harris  and  Maj.  Rathbun,  of 
Albany,  son-in-law  of  Senator  Harris,  visited  Ford's  Theatre,  at 
Washington,  for  the  purpose  of  witnessing  "The  American 
Cousin,"  which  was  running  at  the  theatre.  The  fact  that  this 
distinguished  party  was  to  be  present  at  the  performance  had 
been  duly  announced  in  all  the  local  papers,  and  the  theatre  was 
denselycrowded.  The  Presidential  party  occupied  a  box  on  the 
second  tier.  The  scene  was  a  brilliant  one,  and  all  went  merry 
with  the  audience  and  actors  alike  until  the  close  of  the  third  act, 
when  the  sharp  report  of  a  pistol  was  heard,  and  an  instant  after 
ward  a  man  was  seen  to  spring  from  the  President's  box  to  the 
stage,  where,  striking  a  tragic  attitude  and  brandishing  a  long  dag 
ger  in  his  right  hand,  he  cried  out,  "Sic  semper  tyraunis!"  and 
then,  am  id  the  bewilderment  of  the  audience,  rushed  through  the 
opposite  side  of  the  stage  and  made  his  escape  from  the  rear  of 
the  theatre.  The  screams  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  told  the  audience  but 
too  plainly  that  the  President  had  been  shot.  All  present  rose  to 
their  feet,  and  the  excitement  was  of  the  wildest  possible  descrip 
tion.  A  rush  was  made  to  the  President's  box,  where,  on  a  hasty 
examination  being  made,  it  was  found  he  was  shot  through  the 
head.  The  President  was  quickly  removed  to  a  private  house 
opposite  the  theatre,  where,  on  further  examination,  his  wound 
was  pronounced  to  be  mortal.  This  tragic  occurrence,  of  course, 
immediately  put  a  stop  to  the  performance,  and  the  theatre  was 
closed  as  quickly  as  possible.  The  assassin  in  his  hurried  flight, 
dropped  hi's  hat  and  a  spur  on  the  stage.  The  hat  was  identified 
as  belonging  to  J.  Wilkes  Booth,  a  prominent  actor,  and  the  spur 
was  recognized  as  one  obtained  by  him  at  a  stable  on  that  day. 
One  or  two  of  the  actors  and  members  of  the  orchestra  declared 

210 


220  ASSASSINATION  OF 

that  the  assassin  was  no  other  than  Wilkes  Booth,  and  the  evi 
dence  almost  momentarily  accumulating  fixed  him  beyond  doubt 
as  the  author  of  the  bloody  tragedy.  Almost  before  the  audience 
had  left  the  theatre  it  was  known  that  the  assasin,  after  he  got 
out,  made  his  escape  on  horseback. 

SECRETARY  SEWARD'S  ESCAPE. 

The  news  of  the  hideous  tragedy  spread  like  wild-fire,  and  the 
greatest  excitement  prevailed  throughout  the  city,  dense  throngs 
of  people  congregating  in  the  locality  of  the  house  where  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  was  lying.  While  the  general  excitement  was  at  its 
height,  it  became  known  that  an  attempt  had  been  made  to  assas 
sinate  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State.  At  about  10  o'clock  a  man 
called  at  the  Secretary's  house,  stating  that  he  had  been  sent  by 
the  family  physician  with  a  prescription  for  the  Secretary,  who 
was  sick,  at  the  same  time  stating  that  he  must  see  him  person 
ally,  as  he  was  instructed  to  give  particular  directions  con 
cerning  the  medicine.  He  pushed  his  way  past  the  servant,  who 
had  told  him  Secretary  Seward  could  not  be  seen,  and  rushed  up 
stairs  to  Mr.  Se ward's  room,  where  he  was  met  by  the  Secretary's 
son,  Mr.  Fred.  Seward,  who  said  he  would  take  charge  of  the  med 
icine.  The  man  dealt  him  a  heavy  blow,  and  rushing  past  him 
into  Secretary  Seward's  room,  sprang  upon  the  Secretary  as  he  lay 
in  bed  and  stabbed  him  several  times  in  the  neck  and  breast.  Maj. 
Seward,  another  of  the  Secretary's  sons,  rushed  to  his  father's  as 
sistance,  and  got  badly  cut  in  a  tussle  with  trie  ruffian,  who  after 
a  hard  struggle  managed  to  escape  from  the  house,  and  mounting 
the  horse  he  had  left  at  the  door,  galloped  off,  shouting  oui;"Sic 
semper  tyrannis."  Surgeon  General  Barnes  was  immediately  sent 
for,  and  pronounced  the  Secretary's  and  Maj.  Seward's  wounds  not 
fatal,  but  the  injuries  which  the  desperado  had  inflicted  on  Fred 
erick  Seward  and  the  servant  of  the  house  were  considered  more 
serious.  When  it  was  known  that  Secretary  Seward  was  not  dan 
gerously  wounded,  the  general  anxiety  was  centered  on  President 
Lincoln,  and  while  the  scene  in  the  streets  was  one  of  the  wildest 
excitement  and  confusion,  within  the  chamber  where  President 
Lincoln  was  lying  all  was  sadness  and  stillness.  Several  members 
of  the  cabinet  had  hastened  to  his  side.  Medical  and  surgical  aid 
were  obtained,  and  everything  was  done  to  relieve  the  suffering 
President.  It  was  soon  ascertained,  however,  that  it  was  impos 
sible  for  him  to  survive,  the  only  question  being  how  long  he 
would  linger.  All  through  the  weary  hours  of  the  night  and  early 
morning  the  President  lay  unconscious,  as  he  had  been  ever  since 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

his  assassination.  He  was  watched  by  several  faithful  friends,  in 
addition  to  near  relatives.  At  his  bedside  were  the  Secretary  of 
War,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Postmaster 
General,  and  the  Attorney  General,  Senator  Sinnner.  Gen.  Farns- 
worth,  Gen.  Todd,  cousin  of  Mrs.  Lincoln;  Maj.  Hay,  M.  B.  Field, 
Gen.  Ilallock,  Maj.  Gen.  Meigs,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gurley,  Gen.  Oglesby, 
of  Illinois,  and  Drs.  E.  X.  Abbott,  11.  K.  Stone,  C.  D.  Hatch,  Neal. 
Hall,  and  Lieberraan. 

MRS.  LINCOLN'S  GRIEF. 

In  the  adjoining  room  were  Mrs.  Lincoln,  her  son,  Capt.  Robert 
Lincoln,  Miss  Harris,  Rnfns  S.  Andrews,  and  two  lady  friends  of 
Mrs.  Lincoln.   Mrs.  Lincoln  was  under  great  excitement  and  agony, 
exclaiming  again  and  again :  "  Why  did  he  not  shoot  me  instead  of 
my  husband?"  She  was  constantly  going  back  and  forth  to  the  bed 
side  of  the  President,  crying  out  in  the  greatest  agony :  "  How  can 
it  be  so?"    The  scene  was  heartrending  in  the  extreme,  and  all 
were  greatly  overcome.    Mrs.  Lincoln  took  her  leave  of  her  hus 
band  about  twenty  minutes  before  his  death.    When  she  was  told 
he  had  breathed  his  last  she  exclaimed:  "Oh!  Why  did  you  not 
tell  me  he  was  dying  ?' '    The  surgeons  and  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
Senator  Sumner,  Capt.  Robert  Lincoln,  Gen.  Todd,  Mr.  Field,  and 
Mr.  Andrews  were  standing  at  his  bedside  when  he  died.    The 
surgeons  were  sitting  on  the  foot  of  the  bed,  holding  the  President's 
hands  and  with  watches  observing  the  slow  declension  of  the  pulse, 
and  such  was  the  stillness  for  some  minutes  that  the  ticking  of  the 
watches  could  be  heard  in  the  room.    At  twenty-two  minutes  past 
7  a.  m.  on  April  15.  the  looked  for  but  dreaded  end  came,  and  as  he 
drew  his  last  breath  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gurley  offered  up  a  prayer  for  the 
deceased's  heart-broken  family  and  the  mourning  country.    The 
President  died  without  a  struggle,  passing  silently  and  calmly 
away,  having  been  in  a  state  of  utter  unconsciousness  from  the 
time  he  was  shot  till  his  death.    All  present  in  the  silent  death 
chamber  felt  the  awful  solemnity  of  the  occasion,  and  the  scene 
was  heartrending  and  touching.    Mrs.  Lincoln,  shortly  after  her 
husband's  death,  was  driven,  with  her  son  Robert,  to  the  White 
Hou^e.  where,  but  the  evening  before,  she  left  for  the  last  time 
with  her  honored  husband,  who  was  never  again  to  enter  that 
home  alive. 

Long  before  the  President  expired  the  authorities  were  per 
fectly  satisfied  as  to  who  committed  the  terrible  deeds,  aud  the 
city  and  military  authorities  commenced  the  investigation,  and 
while  the  Cabinet  and  other  ministers  were  watching  over  the 


222  ASSASSINATION  OF 

President  every  effort  was  made  to  capture  the  murderers.  Cour 
iers  mounted  on  fleet  hoises  rushed  to  and  fro,  and  the  sound  of 
the  hoofs  of  horses  was  heard  in  all  directions.  The  city  and 
military  authorities  worked  with  energy  and  vigilance,  and  the 
tidings  at  last  came  that  one  of  the  horses  had  been  captured, 
nearly  exhausted,  at  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  and  that  its  bridle 
was  covered  with  blood.  The  animal  was  identified  as  the  horse 
ridden  by  the  assassin  from  Se ward's  residence.  This  gave  a  good 
deal  of  hope  that  the  author  of  the  horrible  crime  might  be  cap 
tured. 

THE  EFFECT   OF  THE  PRESIDENT'S  DEATH. 

The  news  of  the  President's  death  fell  like  a  pall  over  the  city, 
and  before  long  every  house  was  draped  in  mourning.  It  seemed 
that  all  were  engaged  in  the  sad  tribute  to  the  departed.  The 
Department  buildings  were  tastefully  draped,  the  War  Depart 
ment  being  literally  covered.  The  pillars  and  the  entire  front 
were  richly  festooned  with  black.  The  hotels,  private  residences, 
and  places  of  business  were  also  appropriately  dressed.  In  short, 
a  mantle  of  gloom  was  thrown  over  the  entire  National  Capital. 
Flags  from  the  Departments  and  throughout  the  city  floated  at 
half-mast,  and  nearly  all  private  and  public  business  was  sus 
pended.  The  grief  felt  was  widespread,  and  the  deepest  gloom 
and  sadness  prevailed  on  all  sides.  The  President's  corpse  was 
removed  to  the  White  House  before  noon,  and  a  dense  crowd 
accompanied  the  remains.  After  an  autopsy  had  been  made  on 
the  corpse  it  was  embalmed  and  placed  in  a  handsome  mahogany 
coffin,  on  which  was  a  silver  plate  bearing  the  inscription: 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

Sixteenth  President  of  the  United  States. 

Borft  February  12, 1809. 

Died  April  15,  1865. 


In  the  evening  City  Councils,  clergy,  and  others  held  meetings 
to  officially  express  regret  at  the  President's  death.  Although 
nothing  was  talked  of  during  the  day  but  the  atrocious  assassina 
tion  and  attempted  assassination  made  by  Secession  sympathizers 
and  desperadoes,  there  was  no  disturbance  of  any  kind,  and  by 
night  time  the  streets  were  quiet  and  the  excitement  gradually 
subsiding.  In  the  meantime  every  effort  was  being  made  to  cap 
ture  the  assassins.  Every  road  leading  out  of  Washington  was 
strongly  picketed,  and  every  avenue  of  escape  thoroughly 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN.  223 

guarded,  and  steamboats  about  to  start  down  the  Potomac  were 
stopped.  A  rumor  prevailed  that  Wilkes  Booth  had  been  cap 
tured,  and  this  helped  to  keep  the  indignation  of  the  people  as  fierce 
as  ever,  and  to  keep  up  the  excitement,  though  the  rumor  turned 
out  to  be  without  foundation. 

THE  NORTH  IN  MOURNING. 

Sunday,  the  16th,  was  a  solemn  and  mournful  day  in  Washing 
ton^  also  in  every  city  in  the  States.  The  churches  were  crowded, 
and  not  a  sermon  was  preached  but  the  tragic  occurrence  was 
touchingly  alluded  to.  During  the  day  it  was  learned  that  all 
members  of  the  Seward  family  were  recovering  from  their  in 
juries,  and  general  satisfaction  was  expressed  that  Secretary  Sew 
ard  had  not  fallen  a  victim  to  the  assassin's  blow.  The  interior  of 
the  White  House  all  day  presented  a  scene  of  overwhelming  sad 
ness.  The  body  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Nation  was 
temporarily  laid  out  in  one  of  the  upper  rooms  of  the  house.  The 
body  was  dressed  in  the  suit  of  plain  black  worn  by  him  on  the 
occasion  of  his  last  inauguration,  while  on  his  pillow  and  over  the 
breast  were  scattered  affectionate  offerings  in  the  shape  of  white 
flowers  and  green  leaves.  During  the  evening  it  was  made  known 
that  the  funeral  services  would  take  place  Wednesday,  the  19th, 
and  that  the  President's  body  would  be  interred  at  Springfield, 
111.  On  Monday  the  person  who  assaulted  Secretary  Seward  was 
arrested  as  he  was  about  to  enter  the  house  of  Mrs.  Surratt  in  the 
little  village  of  UnionUrvn.  An  intense  excitement  prevailed 
when  it  was  learned  that  detectives  were  on  Booth's  tracks. 
Several  persons  supposed  to  be  concerned  in  these  murderous  out 
rages  were  placed  under  arrest.  On  Monday  the  body  of  the  mur 
dered  President  lay  in  state  in  the  coffin,  which  was  placed  on  a 
grand  catafalque  erected  in  the  East  Room  of  the  White  House. 
The  room  was  heavily  draped  in  mourning  and  a  guard  of 
honor  surrounded  the  coffin.  The  populace  by  thousands  gathered 
ai  the  White  House  and  there  viewed  the  body.  The  trains  dur 
ing  the  night  and  morning  rought  hundreds  of  distinguished 
visitors  to  the  city  from  all  portions  of  the  North.  All  the  streets 
leading  to  the  White  House  were  thronged  with  people  from  early 
rnorn  till  late  at  night  wending  their  way  to  the  spot  where  rested 
the'  sarcophagus  in  which  was  confined  the  cold  and  motionless 
form  of  him  who  but  a  few  days  since  had  hold  of  the  helm  of  the 
ship  of  State.  The  universality  of  the  mourning  was  remarkable. 
Old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  all  sexes,  grades  and  colors,  united 
in  paying  their  homage  to  the  great  and  illustrious  dead,  and  one 


'224  ASSASSINATION  OF 

of  the  most  touching  sights  was  that  of  the  wounded  soldiers  from 
the  hospitals,  who  c;ime  to  have  a  long,  last  look  at  the  face  of  the 
late  President  and  honored  Commander-in-Chief. 

THE    FUNEllAL    SERVICES. 

On  Wednesday  morning  a  funeral  service  was  held  at  the  White 
House,  at  which  were  present  a,  large  number  of  clergymen  repre 
senting  various  sections  of  the  country.  The  heads  of  Bureaus,, 
the  Sanitary  and  Christian  Commissions,  the  Governors,  Assistant 
Secretaries,  Congressmen,  officers  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Diplo 
matic  Corps,  the  Judges  of  the  local  Courts,  the  pall-bearers, 
ladies  of  the  Government  officials,  the  chief  mourners,  President 
Johnson  and  Cabinet,  the  members  of  the  family,  and  the  ushers. 
The  whole  scene  presented  in  the  room  was  one  of  solemnity,  and 
a  single  feeling  appeared  manifest  among  all,  and  that  was 'grief. 
The  services  were  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hall,  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  in  the  city,  and  the  funeral  oration  was 
delivered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gurley,  pastor  of  the  Presby 
terian  Church  in  the  city,  which  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  family 
were  in  the  habit  of  attending.  At  the  close  of  these  services  the  . 
the  funeral  cortege  started  for  the  Capital.  Every  window, 
housetop,  balcony,  and  every  inch  of  sidewalk  on  either  side  was- 
densely  crowded  with  a  living  throng  to  witness  the  procession. 
The  beat  of  the  funeral  drum  sounded  upon  the  street,  and  the 
cortege  marched  with  solemn  tread  and  arms  reversed.  The  pro 
cession  consisted  of  a  large  military  escort,  including  a  body  of 
dismounted  officers  of  the  army  and  navy  and  marine  corps.  Fol 
lowing  these  came  the  civic  authorities,  and  after  them  the  fun 
eral  car,  drawn  by  six  gray  horses.  A  long  line  of  sad  and  weep 
ing  relatives  of  the  deceased  followed  in  carriages.  Next  came 
President  Johnson,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Preston  King,  of  New 
York,  with  a  strong  cavalry  guard  on  either  side.  Ihe  rest  of  the 
procession  consisted  of  the  Cabinet  and  diplomatic  corps,  Judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  clerks  of  the  Departments,  and  was. 
closed  by  1,.~>00  well-dressed  negroes  of  various  organizations.  The 
procession  was  one  hour  and  a  half  passing  a  given  point ;  it  con 
tained  18,000  persons,  and  was  witnessed  by  "at  least  150,000 
people.  After  the  body  had  been  placed  in  the  Capitol,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Gurley  read  the  burial  service,  at  the  close  of  which  the  out 
side  procession  slowly  dispersed.  The  body  of  the  late  President 
lay  in  state  in  the  Capitol  all  that  day  and  through  the  night, 
attended  by  a  guard  of  honor  and  viewed  by  an  immense  number, 
of  citizens. 


PRESIDES T  L I N COLN. 

Eany  on  Friday  morning,  the  21st,  the  body  was  carried  to  the 
depot  of  the  Baltimore  <fe  Ohio  Railway,  and  the  distinguished 
party  that  was  to  accompany  the  remains  to  Springfield,  111.,  left 
on  their  sad  errand  by  the  half-past  7  a.  in.  train.  The  route  was 
as  follows,  and  the  arrangements  were  all  carried  out  to  perfec 
tion,  there  being  no  delays  on  the  journey :  From  Washington  ta 
Baltimore,  Baltimore  to  Harrisburg,  Harrisburg  to  Philadelphia, 
Philadelphia  to  New  York,  New  York  to  Albany,  Albany  to  Buf 
falo,  Buffalo  to  Cleveland,  Cleveland  to  Columbus,  Columbus  to 
Indianapolis,  Indianapolis  to  Chicago,  Chicago  to  Springfield.  All 
the  towns  along  the  route  were  draped  in  mourning,  and  at  the 
cities  above  mentioned,  where  the  funeral  train  stopped,  the  coffin-, 
was  removed  from  the  funeral  car  and  borne  in  solemn  and. 
majestic  procession  through  the  streets  to  the  principal  public 
building  in  each  city,  where  suitable  ceremonies  were  performed, 
and  the  sad  procession  in  each  city  witnessed  by  thousands  of  cit 
izens  and  visitors  from  neighboring  towns.  The  funeral  train 
reached  Springfield,  111.,  on  the  4th  of  May,  on  which  day  the  body 
of  the  deceased  President  was  interred  in  the  Oak  Ridge  Cemetery 
amid  much  funeral  pomp  and  ceremony. 

THE  ASSASSINS  ARRESTED. 

It  was  some  days  after  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln 
before  the  indignation  of  the  public  was  somewhat  calmed  at 
learning  of  the  arrests  of  those  implicated  in  the  assassination  of 
the  Pre jident  and  in  the  assaults  on  the  Seward  family.  A  reward 
of  $50,000  was  offered  for  the  arrest  of  Booth,  $25,000  for  the 
arrest  of  Atzerot,  and  a  like  sum  for  that  of  D.  C.  Harrold,  the 
latter  two  being  known  to  be  specially  implicated  in  the  assassi 
nation  and  the  attempted  assassination.  Lewis  Payne  was  ar 
rested  April  15  at  Washington,  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Surratt.  On 
being  taken  before  the  servant  at  Mr.  Seward's  house  he  was  im 
mediately  recognized  as  the  person  who  attempted  to  assassinate 
Secretary  Seward.  With  him  were  arrested  Mrs.  Surratt  and  oth 
ers  in  the  same  house.  Atzerot  was  arrested  on  April  20  near 
Middlebury,  Montgomery  Co.,  Md.  On  April  25th  J.  Wilkes  Booth 
was  overtaken  by  a  party  sent  out  by  Col.  L.  C.  Baker,  special 
detective  of  the  War  Department.  Booth  and  Harrold  had  been 
traced  together  across  theRappahannockRiver  at  Mathias  Point, . 
Md.,and  were  found  on  Tuesday  evening,  April  25,  in  a  barn  about ; 
three  miles  from  Port  Royal.  The  barn  was  surrounded,  and,1, 
although  Harrold  was  willing  to  give  himself  up,  Booth  refused; 
to  surrender.  Finally  the  barn  was  fired.  Harrold  then  gave 


QARFIELVX  MAXIMS. 

himself  up,  but  Booth  prepared  to  defend  himself.  Lieut.  Doch- 
erty,  commanding  the  party,  ordered  Sergt.  Corbett  to  fire,  which 
he  did  through  one  of  the  crevices  and  shot  Booth  through  the 
head.  Upon  being  shot  Booth  exclaimed,  "  It  is  all  up  now ;  I'm 
gone!"  He  was  found  to  be  wounded  in  the  head,  and  died  about 
two  hours  after  he  was  shot.  The  other  important  arrests  made 
were  Dr.  Mudd,  at  whose  house  Booth  was  known  to  have  stopped 
when  in  Maryland;  Edward  Spangler,  of  Ford's  Theatre;  Michael 
O'J^aughlin,  and  Samuel  Arnold.  These,  with  Atzerot,  Harrold, 
and  Mrs.  Surratt,  were  arraigned  on  Saturday,  May  13,  and  after  a 
lengthy  trial,  Harrold,  Payne,  Atzerot,  and  Mrs.  Surratt  were  sen 
tenced  to  be  executed,  and  were  hanged  on  July  7  at  Washington. 


Garfield's  Maxims. 
—I  WOULD  rather  be  beaten  in  Eight  than  succeed  in  Wrong. 

— I  FEEL  a  profounder  reverence  for  a  Boy  than  for  a  man.  I 
never  meet  a  ragged  Boy  in  the  street  without  feeling  that  I  may 
owe  him  a  salute,  for  1  know  not  what  possibilities  may  be  but 
toned  up  under  his  coat. 

—PRESENT  Evils  always  seem  greater  than  those  that  never 
come. 

— LUCK  is  an  ignis-fatuus.  You  may  follow  it  to  Ruin,  but 
never  to  Success. 

—A  POUND  of  Pluck  is  worth  a  ton  of  Luck. 

—Foil  the  noblest  man  that  lives  there  still  remains  a  Conflict 

—THE  principles  of  Ethics  have  not  changed  by  the  lapse  of 
years. 

-  GROWTH  is  better  than  Permanence,  and  permanent  growth 
is. better  than  all. 

— IT  is  no  honor  or  profit  merely  to  appear  in  the  arena.  The 
Wreath  is  for  those  who  contend. 

—AFTER  the  battle  of  Arms  comes  the  battle  of  History. 

—THERE  is  a  fellowship  among  the  Virtues  by  which  one 
great,  generous  passion  stimulates  another. 

—THE  privilege  of  being  a  Young  Man  is  a  great  privilege,  and 
the  privilege  of  growing  up  to  be  art  independent  Man  in  middle 
life  is  a  greater. 

— No  Man  can  make  a  speech  alone.  It  is  the  great  human 
powei  that  strikes  up  from  a  thousand  minds  that  acts  upon  him 
and  makes  the  speech. 

— WE  hold  reunions,  not  for  the  Dead,  for  there  is  nothing  in 
all  the  earth  that  you  and  I  can  do  for  the  Dead.  They  are  past 


GARF1EL&S  MAXIMS.  227 

our  help  and  past  our  praise.  "VVe  can  add  to  them  no  glory,  we 
can  give  to  them  no  immortality.  They  do  not  need  us,  but  for 
ever  and  forever  more  we  need  them.— Speech  at  Geneva,  Aug.  3, 
1880. 

—NOTHING  is  more  uncertain  than  the  result  of  any  one  throw ; 
few  things  more  certain  than  the  result  of  many  throws. 

— IF  the  power  to  do  hard  work  is  not  Talent,  it  is  the  best  pos 
sible  substitute  for  it. 

— OCCASION  may  be  the  bugle-call  that  summons  an  army  tc 
battle,  but  the  blast  of  a  bugle  can  never  make  Soldiers  or  win 
Victories. 

—THINGS  don't  turn  up  in  this  World  until  somebody  turns 
them  up. 

—WE  cannot  study  Nature  profoundly  without  bringing  our 
selves  into  communion  with  the  Spirit  of  Art,  which  prevades 
and  fills  the  Universe. 

— IF  there  be  one  thing  upon  this  Earth  that  mankind  love 
and  admire  better  than  another,  it  is  a  brave  Man— it  is  a 
man  who  dares  to  look  the  Devil  in  the  face  and  tell  him  he  is  a 
Devil. 

—IT  is  one  of  the  precious  mysteries  of  Sorrow  that  it  finds 
solace  in  unselfish  Thought. 

— TRUE  ART  is  but  the  anti-type  of  Nature — the  embodiment  of 
discovered  Beauty  in  utility. 

— EVERY  character  is  the  joint  product  of  Nature  and  Nur 
ture. 

— HE  was  one  of  the  few  great  Kulers  whose  wisdom  increased 
with  his  power,  and  whose  spirit  grew  gentler  and  tenderer  as  his 
Triumphs  were  multiplied. — Oration  on  Abraham  Lincoln. 

— THE  Problems  to  be  solved  in  the  study  of  human  life  and 
character  are  these:  Given  the  Character  of  a  Man  and  the  con 
ditions  of  life  around  him,  \\hat  will  be  his  Career?  Or,  given 
his  Character  and  Career,  of  what  kind  were  his  Surroundings : 
The  relation  of  these  three  factors  to  each  other  is  severely  logical 
From  them  is  deduced  all  genuine  History.  Character  is  the 
chief  element,  for  it  is  both  a  Result  and  a  Cause— a  result  of  In 
fluence  and  a  cause  of  Results. 

— POWER  exhibits  itself  under  two  distinct  forms — Strengthand 
Force — each  possessing  peculiar  qualities  and  each  perfect  in  its 
own  sphere. ~  Strength  is  typified  by  the  Oafc,  the  Rock,  the 
Mountain.  Force  embodies  itself  in  the  Cataract,  the  Tempest, 
the  Thunderbolt. 

— THE  possession  of  great  Powers  no  doubt  carries  with  it  a 
contempt  for  mere  external  Show. 

—To  a  young  Man  who  has  in  himself  the  magnificent  possibili 
ties  of  life  it  is  not  fitting  that  he  should  be  permanently  com- 


228  GARFIELD'S  MAXIMS. 

manded ;  he  should  be  a  Commander.  You  must  not  continue  to 
be  the  employ 'ea.  You  must  be  an  employer!  You  must  be  pro 
moted  from  the  ranks  to  a  command.  There  is  something,  young 
Man,  which  you  can  command — go  and  find  it  and  command  it. 
Do  not,  I  beseech  you,  be  content  to  enter  upon  any  Business 
which  does  not  require  and  compel  constant  intellectual  Growth. 

—IN  order  to  have  any  success  in  life,  or  any  worthy  success, 
you  must  resolve  to  carry  into  your  work  a  fullness  of  Knowl 
edge — not  merely  a  Sufficiency,  but  more  than  a  Sufficiency. 

— BE  fit  for  more  than  the  Thing  you  are  now  doing. 

— IF  you  are  not  too  large  for  the  Place  you  are  too  small 
for  it. 

— YOUNG  Men  talk  of  trusting  to  the  Spur  of  the  Occasion. 
That  trust  is  vain.  Occasions  cannot  make  Spurs.  If  you  ex 
pect  to  wear  Spurs  you  must  win  them.  If  you  wish  to  use  them 
you  must  buckle  them  to  your  own  heels  before  you  go  into  the 
Fight. 

—THE  Student  should  study  himself,  his  relation  to  Society,  to 
Mature  and  Art — and  above  all,  in  all,  and  through  all  these,  he 
should  study  the  relations  of  Himself,  Society,  Nature  and  Art  to 
God  the  Author  of  them  all. 

— GREAT  Ideas  travel  slowly  and  for  a  time  noiselessly,  as  the 
gods  whose  Feet  were  shod  with  wool. 

— THE  world's  history  is  a  Divine  Poem  of  which  the  history 
of  eveiy  Nation  is  a  canto  and  every  Man  a  word.  Its  strains 
have  been  pealing  along  down  the  centuries,  and  though  there 
have  been  mingled  the  discords  of  warring,  cannon  and  dying 
men,  yet  to  the  Christian,  Philosopher  and  Historian — the  humble 
listener- -there  has  been  a  divine  melody  running  through  the 
song  which  speaks  of  hope  and  halcyon  days  to  come. 

— TRUTH  is  so  related  and  correlated  that  no  department  of  her 
realm  is  wholly  isolated. 

— LIBERTY  can  be  safe  only  when  suffrage  is  illuminated  by 
education. 

—THE  scientific  spirit  has  cast  out  the  Demons  and  presented 
us  with  Nature,  clothed  in  her  right  mind  and  living  under  the 
reign  of  law.  It  has  given  us  for  the  sorceries  of  the  Alchemist, 
the  beautiful  laws  of  chemistry;  for  the  dreams  of  the  Astrol 
oger,  the  sublime  truths  of  astronomy;  for  the  wild  visions  of 
Cosmogony,  the  monumental  records  of  geology;  for  the  anarchy 
of  Diabolism,  the  laws  of  God. 

—THE  American  people  have  done  much  for  the  Locomotive, 
and  the  Locomotive  has  done  much  for  them. 

— I  LOVE  to  believe  that  no  heroic  sacrifice  is  ever  lost,  that  the 
characters  of  men  are  moulded  and  inspired  by  what  their  fathers 
have  done;  that,  treasured  up  in  American  souls  are  all  the  un 
conscious  influences  of  the  great  deeds  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race, 
from  Agincourt  to  Bunker  Hill. 


THE   WORLD'S  EULOGIES 

ON 

PRESIDENT   GARFIELD. 


THE  reader  will  find  in  this  volume  some  of  the  most 
eloquent  and  pathetic  words  that  have  ever  fallen  from  the 
lips  of  man,  called  forth  by  the  life  and  death  of  one  whose 
career,  from  the  cabin  to  the  White  House,  forms  the 
brightest  pages  in  human  history.  Life's  grandest  lessons, 
its  highest  aspirations,  holiest  love,  noblest  ambition,  man 
ifold  duties,  patient  labors  and  fullest  rewards,  are  exhaust 
ively  portrayed,  by  orators  the  most  eminent,  as  they  gaze 
upon  the  colossal  figure.  In  this  one  single  life  the  whole 
world  seems  beckoned  to  a  higher  civilization.  Says  WAT- 
TERSON:  "To-day,  for  the  first  time  in  fifty,  aye,  in  sixty 
years,  the  people  of  the  United  States  are  one  with  one 
another,  and  stand  hand  in  hand  and  heart  to  heart."  "  In 
the  scenes  of  these  few  days,"  says  SWING,  "  we  must  mark 
some  signs  of  a  more  sensitive  brotherhood;"  and  the  elo 
quent  STORRS,  in  his  eulogy,  declares  that  "Never  since  we 
have  been  a  people — indeed,  since  this  world  has  had  a  his 
tory — has  there  been  a  mourning  so  universal,  a  grief  so 

(8) 


PREFACE.  » 

deep  and  so  profoundly  sincere."  And  the  basis  of  all  is 
touchingly  told  in  another  eulogy,  where  a  little  child,  see 
ing  the  mourning  emblems  on  every  side  in  its  native  vil 
lage,  said,  in  all  the  sincerity  of  its  heart: 

"  Mamma,  is  there  somebody  dead  in  everybody's  house 

to-day?" 

"  No,  dear,"  said  the  mother,  "  there  is  not  some  one 
dead  in  everybody's  house  to-day,  but  everybody  has  lost  a 
friend." 

The  eulogies  in  this  volume  have  been  pronounced  by 
the  best  orators  of  the  day,  upon  one  of  the  grandest 
themes  of  the  age— a  perfect  man— which  necessarily  called 
forth  the  best  possible  effort.  For  eloquence,  pathos  and 
general  instruction— so  far  as  we  may  learn  from  the  exam- 
pie  of  an  upright  man— they  are  as  unparalleled  in  the  his 
tory  of  literature  as  is  the  great  "  Memorial  Day,"  with 
its  three  hundred  millions  of  sorrowing  hearts,  unparalleled 
in  the  history  of  human  sympathy. 

J.    B.    McCLURE. 

CHICAGO,  Oct.  10,  1881. 


A  GRAND  LIFE  AND  ITS  GREAT  LESSONS. 

REV.  ISAAC  ERRETT,  CINCINNATI. 


PACK 


The  Funeral  Address  at  the  Pavilion,  in  Cleveland— Time  of  unpar- 
alled  Mourning— Why  do  we  Mourn?— A  Thrilling  Incident- 
Virtue  and  its  Rewards— A  Rounded  Life— The  Great  Lesson- 
Truth  the  Eternal  Foundation— The  Mother— The  Wife— The 
Children— The  Divine  Benedictions,  .  17 

A  COLOSSAL  FIGURE. 

PROF.  SWING,  CHICAGO. 

Human  Greatness  and  Sorrow— Young  Garfield  and  Liberty— Les 
sons  for  the  Young— Man's  Dignity  and  Greatness— Signs  of  a 
Higher  Civilization— Garfield 's  Religion— Garfield  and  Lincoln— 
The  White  Pages  of  History, 30 

MIGHTIER  DEAD  THAN  LIVING. 

DR.     T.     DE  WITT    TALMAGE,     BROOKLYN. 

Sampson,  the  Hercules  of  Greece— Garfield 's  Remarkable  Death- 
Shaking  Hands  across  the  Palpitating  Heart— Valuable  Lessons 
for  All— The  Limits  of  Science  and  Sympathy— Mrs.  Garfield's 
Heroism — Eloquent  Peroration,  ....  41 

GARFIELD'S  GREATNESS  OF  NATURE. 

PRESIDENT  HINSDALE,  HIRAM  COLLEGE. 

An  Unparalleled  History— Garfield's  Many-sidedness— Young  Gar- 
field  at  Hiram— Garfield's  Simplicity— Garfield's  Last  Letter  to 
President  Hinsdale— The  Noble  Wife— A  Mystery,  .  ,51 

GARFIELD'S  BEAUTIFUL  LIFE. 

HON.  J.  H.  RHODES,  CLEVELAND. 

Garfield  at  Hiram— In  the  Class-room— How  He  Learned— Born  in 
the  Right  Age— Pleasing  Incidents— Love  of  Poetry— Stopping 
the  Carriage  on  the  Old  Bridge,  *Q 

(10) 


CONTENTS.  11 

THE  NATION'S  FRIEND. 

HENRY  WATTERSON,  LOUISVILLE.  PAGE 

Heart  to  Heart — Every  Inch  a  Man — A  Blow  that  Missed  the  State 
and  Struck  the  Man— Watterson  Loved  Him — Personal  Reminis 
cences — We  Stand  on  Common  Ground — Saluting  the  Star-Span 
gled  Banner — "God  Reigns  and  the  Government  Still  Lives,"  .  63 

THE  CROWN  OF  MARTYRDOM. 

REN.  HENRY  WARD  BEECHER,  BROOKLYN. 

(In  Peekskill.) 

A  World  in  Mourning— Garfield's  Birth-gifts— The  Conflict  Ended— 
Four  Conspicuous  Names, 69 

GARFIELD'S  GREATNESS. 

REV.  HENRY  WARD  BEECHER,  BROOKLYN. 

(In  Brooklyn.) 

The  Prayer— Shortness  of  Life— The  Lion  and  the  Lamb— The  Fu 
neral  March — Comfort  in  Sorrow — Unity  of  Mankind — Instruc 
tive  Lessons — A  Word  on  Guiteau — The  Sorrowful  Family  Group,  73 

COMFORT  IN  SORROW. 

ROBERT    COLLYER,  D.D.,  NEW  YORK. 

The  President  is  Dead — The  Shining  Portals — A  Shadow  over  the 
Day — Hard  to  Submit  to  the  Doom — Garfield's  Love  for  his  Coun 
try  and  Family — Kissing  his  Mother — The  Tokens  of  Sympathy 
— Waiting  and  Watching, 80 

OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT. 

HON.  EMERY  A.  STORRS,  CHICAGO. 

Unparalleled  Sorrow — Universal  Brotherhood  of  Humanity — Garfield 
Made  the  Whole  Circuit  of  American  Life— A  Record  Pure  and 
Spotless — The  School-boy  and  the  Teacher — The  Preacher  and  the 
Soldier — Meeting  Garfield  During  the  Campaign — Meeting  Him 
at  Mentor— Anecdotes— Meeting  Him  at  the  White  House— In 
teresting  Incidents — Garfield  Without  an  Enemy — His  Firmness 
—The  Friend  of  All— Standing  by  the  Open  Grave— The  Past  is 
Secure — His  Memory  is  Ours, 83 

GARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

HON.    R.    STOCKETT   MATIIEWS — BALTIMORE. 

Picturesque  Phases  in  Garfield's  Life— An  Inspiration— A  Hero— 
The  Genius  of  Free  Institutions— The  Long  Distance  Between 
the  Tow-path  and  the  Executive  Mansion — Twenty  Years— The 


12  CONTENTS. 

PAGK 

Coronation— Firing  the  Temple  of  Ephesus— James  A.  Garfield 
the  Most  Perfect  Man  of  the  Century— Meeting  him  Eighteen 
Years  Ago  in  Monument  Square — Meeting  him  a  Few  Days 
Before  the  Assassination — The  Christian  Politician — Christian 
Statesman — The  Dying  Hero,  . 97 

IN  MEMORIAM. 

CHARLES  F.  BUCK,  ESQ. — NEW  ORLEANS. 

A  Bright  Morning— A  Great  Nation— Garfield 's  Election— His  In 
auguration—His  Martyrdom— A  Review  of  his  Life— Extract 
from  Garfield's  Speech  to  Restore  Jefterson  Davis  to  the  Right 
of  Citizenship— On  the  Greenback  Question— His  Personal  Char 
acteristics—His  Domestic  Life, 114 

THE  MAN  OF  HIS  TIME. 

PHILLIPS   BROOKS,    D.D. — BOSTON. 

Days  that  Stand  Apart  in  History— A  Common  Grief— A  Half  Cen 
tury  of  Noble  Life— Garfield  in  War— His  Fidelity  to  the  Right— 
Garfield  a  Philosopher — His  Love  for  Literature — His  Love  for 
Jesus  Christ— A  Word  to  the  Young, 127 

A  NATION  MOURNS. 

EX-GOV.  C.  K.  DAVIS — ST.  PAUL. 

The  Trappings  of  Woe— A  Leading  Statesman— A  Pratical  Man— 
A  Noble  Ambition— Garfield 's  Imagination— His  Scholarship— 
An  Incident  in  the  Chicago  Convention— The  Duty  of  the  Hour 
—The  Three  Martyred  Presidents— The  Halls  of  History— The 
Lesson  we  Must  Learn  to  Live— Warning  Words,  .  .  .133 

GARFIELD'S  DOMESTIC  LIFE. 

REV.  L.  W.  BRIGHAM — LA  CROSSE. 

Garfield's  Home  Life— His  Good  Mother— Mrs.  Garfield's  Wifely 
Devotion— Scene  at  the  Inauguration— Full  Realization  of  a 
Mother's  Hopes— Garfield's  Tender  Affection— His  Remark  on  the 
Fatal  Morning:  "I  Should  Rather  Die  than  that  She  Should 
Have  a  Relapse, "  .141 

A  PICTURE. 

HON.  JOHN   H.  CRAIG — SAN   FRANCISCO. 

Looking  Across  the  Intervening  Space— States  Bowed  in  Reverence 
—The  Eloquence  of  Grief— The  Dearest  Name  in  History— Look- 


CONTENTS.  13 

PAGB 

ing  at  the  Picture — A  Glimpse  at  Garfield's  Family  Life — A  Rep 
resentative  Man,         •         •         .        .        .'       •       •       •        .  145 

GARFIELD'S  LEGACY. 

RABBI   LILIENTHAL — CINCINNATI. 

The  Divine  Poem— The  Coffin-Pulpit— "  God  Reigns,  and  the  Gov 
ernment  at  Washington  Still  Lives  " — American  Aspiration  and 
Success — Fortitude  in  Suffering,  .  .  .  .  .  .149 

THE  TYPICAL  AMERICAN. 

PROP.  SHATTUCK — GREELEY. 

Garfield's  Boyhood — On  the  Farm — Swinging  the  Ax — "  I  will  go 
Through  College  " — Garfield's  Reraaiks  on  Williams'  Old  Log 
Cabin  and  Mark  Hopkins — His  Kindness  of  Heart — Incidents 
Illustrating  the  Greatness  of  the  Man — His  Moral  Courage — 
Studying  the  Good  of  the  Republic, 154 

TRUE  TO  HIMSELF— FALSE  TO  NONE. 

HON.  R.  F.  PETTIBONE — BURLINGTON. 

Garfield  Followed  his  Convictions — What  we  Love  him  For — A  Vis 
ion  of  the  Past — Garfield's  Devotion  to  his  Wife — Graphic  Pic 
ture  of  a  Scene  in  the  Chicago  Convention  —On  the  Bed  of 
Suffering — The  Nation  his  Memorial,  .  160 

THE  HOUSEHOLD  STORY. 

CHANCEY  M.  DEPEW — NEW  YORK. 

The  Wickedest  Crime  of  the  Century— Garfield  the  Highest  Type  of 
Manhood — His  Life  a  Great  Incentive  to  the  Young — Salutary 
Influence  of  Garfield's  Death — The  North  and  South  Rise  from 
Bended  Knees  to  Embrace— The  Queen, 166 

A  MAN  FOR  THE  PEOPLE. 

REV.  T.  K.  NOBLE — SAN  FRANCISCO. 

An  Army  Chaplain  to  his  Comrades — A  Grand  Life — Garfield's  Re 
ligion — A  Happy  Home, 169 

A  LIFE  THAT  SHINES. 

JAMES  FREEMAN  CLARKE,  D.D. — BOSTON. 

Garfield  Side  by  Side  with  Washington  and  Lincoln — The  World 
wide  Sorrow — Loyalty  to  the  Government,  .  .  .  176 


14  CONTENTS. 

THE  IMMORTAL  NAME. 

JUDGE  JOHN  P.  REA — MINNEAPOLIS.  PAGH 

The  Sad  Requiem— A  Tribute  Laid  Upon  a  Fresh-made  Grave— Hu 
man  Love, 180 

THE  ILLUSTRIOUS  DEAD. 

SENATOR  VOORHEES — INDIANA. 

Every  Nation  a  Mourner — Meeting  Garfield  on  the  Political  Field — 
Personal  Character— Intellectual  Abilities— Incidents,  .  .  184 

AN  UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE. 

REV.  Q.  H.  WELLS — MONTREAL. 

We  Share  the  Grief— Growing  Intercourse — Garfield,  the  Boy — The 
Man — The  President — Not  Ashamed  of  his  Religion — Domestic 
Life— Love  for  Mankind, 189 

LESSONS  FOR  THE  YOUNG. 

BISHOP    CLARKSON — IOWA. 

Among  all  the  Wonders  of  History  this  Hour  Stands  Alone — A  Great 
Example — The  Victory — Honest  Manhood — Earth's  Highest  Civic 
Honors,  .  .  .  . 201 

LINCOLN  AND  GARFIELD. 

EX-GOV.  OGLESBY — ILLINOIS — (Delivered  in  Leadville,  Col.) 
A  Nation's  Sorrow — Two  Great  and  Good  Men — Lincoln  and  Garfield 
— Both  in  the  Affections  of  all  Lovers  of  Liberty  Throughout  the 
World,         .         .         . 205 

GARFIELD,  THE  CHRISTIAN. 

REV.  J.  W.  INGRAM — OMAHA. 

Influence  of  His  Life — The  Christian  Statesman — At  Home  in  Men 
tor—His  Faith— Example, 212 

THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  GREAT  MEN. 

REV.  DR.  RANKIN,  WASHINGTON. 

Garfield  Grew  into  Greatness — His  Power  Never  Degenerated — A 
Loving  Heart, 21V 

WHY  WE  MOURN. 

N.  R.  HARPER,  ESQ,,  LOUISVILLE. 

How  the  Colored  People  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  Observed  the  "  Memorial 
Day"— Garfield  a  Tried  Friend,  .  .221 


CONTENTS.  15 

WE  ALL  MOURN. 

CAPTAIN  HENRY  JACKSON,  ATLANTA.  PAGB 

Twenty  Years  Ago — Resolutions  by  the  Cceur  de  Leon  Commandery 
— Oarfield  a  Knight  Templar,  .  .  ,'....  .225 

THE  PERFECT  MAN. 

ELDER  J.  Z.  TAYLOR,  KANSAS  CITY. 

Grandeur  of  a  Great  Life — From  the  Tow-path  to  the  Presidential 
Chair — Garfield  Never  Missed  from  his  Place  of  Worship  in 
Washington — How  he  Sang  "All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus'  Name," 
when  leaving  Mentor,  .  .  .  229 

THE  LAMENTED  PRESIDENT. 

HON.  ROGER  A.  PRYOR,   BROOKLYN. 

A  Melancholy  Pleasure — An  Unclouded  Promise — Tokens  of  a  Union 
of  Hearts :  .'••  .  .  .232 

IN  LONDON. 

MINISTER  LOWELL'S  ADDRESS  IN  EXETER  HALL. 
A  Paradox — Womanly  Devotedness — The  Queen — The  Death  Scene 
Unexampled — Joseph  and  Garfield — Destiny  of  the  American 
Republic, .        .   •'  .        .        .233 

PERSONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  GEN.  GARFIELD. 
John  G.  Whittier— Lord  Bishop  of  Montreal— Dr.  Franklin  Noble— 
Dr.  H,  A.  Edson— Gen.  Sibley— Rev.  J.  P.  Bolfish,     .        .        .237 

A  PUPILSTRIBUTE. 

BY  U.  F.  UDELL,  ST.  LOUIS. 

Interesting  Incidents  by  one  of  Garfield's  Scholars  in  Hiram  College,  247 
A  WISE  MAN. 

BY  DR.  SPROLE,  DETROIT. 

Preliminary  Statement — A  Man  Present  who  has  Attended  all  the 
Funerals  of  the  Presidents,  including  that  of  Washington — Duf- 
field'sPoem, V  .  .  .  250 

IN  CONCLUSION. 
Garfield's  Poem  on  Memory 258 


"  OH  !  sir,  there  are  times  in  the  history  of  men  and  na 
tions  when  they  stand  so  near  the  veil  that  separates  mor 
tals  and  immortals,  time  from  eternity,  and  men  from  their 
God,  that  they  can  almost  hear  the  beating  and  feel  the 
pulsations  of  the  Infinite.  Through  such  a  time  has  this 
Nation  passed.  When  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
brave  spirits  passed  from  the  field  of  honor  through  that 
thin  veil  to  the  presence  of  God,  and  when  at  last  its  part 
ing  folds  admitted  that  martyred  President  to  the  company 
of  the  dead  heroes  of  the  Republic,  the  Nation  stood  so 
near  the  veil  that  the  whispers  of  God  were  heard  by  the 
children  of  men." — President  Garfield,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  assassination  of  his  illustrious  predecessor*  Abraham 
Lincoln. 

(16) 


THE  WORLD'S  EULOGIES 


ON 


PRESIDENT  GARFIELD. 


A  GRAND  LIFE  AND  ITS  GREAT  LESSONS, 


BY  REV.  ISAAC  ERRETT,  of  Cincinnati. 


FUNERAL    ADDRESS, 

DELIVERED  AT  THE  PAVILION  IN  CLEVELAND,  SEPTEMBER  26,  1881,  IN  THE 
PRESENCE  OF  250,000  PEOPLE. 

UNPARALLELED  MOURNING. 

THIS  is  a  time  of  mourning  that  has  no  parallel  in  the 
history,  of  the  world.  Death  is  constantly  occurring,  and 
every  day  and  every  hour,  and  almost  every  moment,  som« 
life  expires,  and  somewhere  there  are  broken  hearts  and 
desolate  homes.  But  we  have  learned  to  accept  the  una 
voidable,  and  we  pause  a  moment  and  drop  a  tear,  and  away 
again  to  the  excitement  and  ambitions,  and  forget  it  all. 
Sometimes  a  life  is  called  for  that  plunges  a  large  commu 
nity  in  mourning,  and  sometimes  whole  nations  mourn  the 
loss  of  a  king,  or  a  wise  statesman,  or  an  eminent  sage,  or 
a  great  philosopher,  or  a  philanthropist,  or  a  martyr  who 
3  (17) 


18  A   GRAND  LIFE 

has  laid  his  life  on  the  altar  of  truth,  and  won  for  himself 
an  envious  immortality  among  the  sons  of  men.  But  there 
was  never  a  mourning  in  all  the  world  like  unto  this  mourn 
ing.  I  am  not  speaking  extravagantly  when  I  say — for  I 
am  told  it  is  the  result  of  calculations  carefully  made  from 
such  data  as  are  in  possession — that  certainly  not  less  than 
300,000,000  of  the  human  race  share  in  the  sadness,  and 
lamentations,  and  sorrow,  and  mourning  that  belong  to 
this  occasion  here  to-day.  It  is  a  chill  shadow  of  a  fearful 
calamity  that  has  extended  itself  into  every  home  in  all 
this  land,  and  into  every  heart,  and  that  has  projected  itself 
over  vast  seas  and  oceans  into  distant  lands,  and  awakened 
the  sincerest  and  profoundest  sympathy  with  us  in  the  hearts 
of  the  good  people  of  the  nations,  and  among  all  people. 
It  is  worth  while,  my  friends,  to  pause  a  moment,  and  ask 
why  this  is? 

WHY  DO  WE  MOURN? 

It  is  doubtless  attributable  in  part  to  the  wondrous  tri 
umphs  of  science  and  art  within  the  present  century,  by 
means  of  which  time  and  space  have  been  so  far  conquered, 
that  nations  once  far  distant  and  necessarily  alienated  from 
each  other,  are  brought  into  close  communication,  and  the 
various  ties  of  commerce,  and  of  social  interests,  and  of  re 
ligious  interests  bring  them  into  a  con  tact  of  fellowship  that 
could  not  have  been  known  in  former  times. 

It  is  likewise  unquestionably  partly  due  to  the  fact  that 
this  Nation  of  ours,  which  has  grown  to  such  wondrous 
might  and  power  before  the  whole  earth,  and  which  is,  in 
fact,  the  hope  of  the  world  in  all  that  relates  to  the  highest 
civilization,  that  sympathy  for  this  Nation  and  respect  for 
this  great  power  leads  to  these  offerings  of  condolence  and 
expressions  of  sympathy  and  grief  from  the  various  nations 
of  the  earth,  and  because  they  have  learned  to  respect  this 
Nation,  and  recognize  that  the  Nation  is  stricken  in  the 
fatal  blow  that  has  taken  away  our  President  from  us.  And 


AND  ITS  GREAT  LESSONS.  19 

yet  this  will  by  no  means  account  for  this  marvelous  and 
world-wide  sympathy  of  which  we  are  speaking.  Yet  it 
cannot  be  attributed  to  mere  intellectual  greatness,  for 
there  have  been  and  there  are  other  great  men;  and,  ac 
knowledging  all  that  the  most  enthusiastic  heart  could 
claim  to  our  beloved  leader,  it  is  but  fair  to  say  that  there 
have  been  more  eminent  educators,  there  have  been  greater 
soldiers,  there  have  been  more  skillful,  and  experienced, 
and  powerful  legislators  smd  leaders  of  mighty  parties  and 
political  forces.  There  is  no  one  department  in  which  he 
has  won  eminence  where  the  world  might  not  point  to 
others  who  attained  higher  and  more  intellectual  greatness. 
It  might  not  be  considered  more  righteously  here  than  in 
many  other  cases  ^  yet,  perhaps,  it  is  rare  in  the  history  ot 
men  and  in  the  history  of  nations  that  any  one  in  an  has 
combined  so  much  of  excellence  in  all  those  various  de 
partments,  and  who,  as  an  educator,  and  a  lawyer,  and  a 
legislator,  and  a  soldier,  and  a  party  chieftain,  and  a  ruler, 
has  done  so  well,  so  thoroughly  well,  in  all  departments, 
and  brought  out  such  successful  results  as  to  inspire  confi 
dence  and  command  respect  and  approval  in  every  path  of 
life  in  which  he  has  walked,  and  in  every  department  of 
public  activity  which  he  has  occupied. 

Yet  I  think  when  we  come  to  a  proper  estimate  of  his 
character  and  seek  after  the  secret  of  their  world-wide 
sympathy  and  affection,  we  shall  find  it  rather  in  the  rich 
ness  and  integrity  of  his  moral  nature,  and  in  that  sincer 
ity,  in  that  transparent  honesty,  in  that  truthfulness  that. 
laid  the  basis  for  everything  of  greatness  to  which  we  do 
honor  to-day.  I  may  state  here  what  perhaps  ia  not  gen 
erally  known  as  an  illustration  of  this: 

A   THRILLING     INCIDENT — GARFIELD    ENLISTING    UNDER   TILE 
BANNER    OF    CHRIST. 

When   James   A.  Garfield  was  yet  a  mere  lad  in  thu 


20  A   GRAND  LIFE 

county,  a  series  of  religious  meetings  were  held  in  one  of 
the  towns  of  Cuyahoga  County  by  a  minister  by  no  means 
attractive  as  an  orator,  possessing  none  of  the  graces  of  an 
orator,  and  marked  only  by  the  entire  sincerity,  by  good 
reasoning  powers,  and  by  earnestness  in  seeking  to  win 
souls  from  sin  to  righteousness.  The  lad  Garfield  attended 
these  meetings  for  several  nights,  and  after  listening  night 
after  night  to  the  sermons,  he  went  one  day  to  the  minister 
and  said  to  him  : 

"  Sir,  I  have  been  listening  to  your  preaching  night  after 
night,  and  I  am  fully  persuaded  that,  if  these  things  you 
say  are  true,  it  is  the  duty  and  the  highest  interest  of  every 
man,  and  especially  of  every  young  man,  to  accept  that  re 
ligion  and  seek  to  be  a  man.  But  really  I  don't  know 
whether  this  thing  is  true  or  not.  I  can't  say  I  disbelieve 
it,  but  I  dare  not  say  that  I  fully  and  honestly  believe  it. 
If  I  were  sure  that  it  were  true,  I  would  most  gladly  give 
it  my  heart  and  my  life."  So,  after  a  long  talk,  the  min 
ister  preached  that  night  on  the  text,  "What  is  Truth?" 
and  proceeded  to  show  that,  notwithstanding  all  the  various 
and  conflicting  theories  and  opinions  in  ethical  science,  and 
notwithstanding  all  the  various  and  conflicting  opinions  in 
the  world,  there  was  one  assured  and  eternal  alliance  for 
every  human  soul  in  Christ  Jesus,  as  to  the  way  of  the 
truth  and  the  life  that  every  soul  of  man  was  safe  with 
Jesus  Christ;  that  he  never  would  mislead;  that  any  young 
man  giving  Him  his  hand  and  heart  and  walking  in  his 
pathway  would  not  go  astray,  and  that  whatever  might  be 
the  solution  of  ten  thousand  insoluble  mysteries,  at  the  end 
of  all  things  the  man  who  loved  Jesus  Christ  and  walked 
after  the  footsteps  of  Jesus,  and  realized  in  spirit  and  life 
the  pure  morals  and  the  sweet  piety,  that  he  to-night  waa 
safe,  if  safety  there  were  in  the  universe  of  God ;  safe,  what 
ever  else  were  safe;  safe,  whatever  else  might  prove  un 
worthy  and  perish  forever.  And  Garfield  seized  upon  it 


AND  ITS  GREAT  LESSONS.  21 

after  due  reflection,  and  came  forward  and  gave  his  hand 
to  the  minister  in  pledge  of  acceptance  of  the  guidance  of 
Christ  for  his  life,  and  turned  back  upon  the  sins  of  the 
world  forever. 

The  boy  is  father  to  the  man,  and  that  pure  honesty  and 
integrity,  and  that  fearless  spirit  to  inquire,  and  that  brave 
surrender  of  all  the  charms  of  sin  to  conviction  of  duty 
and  right,  went  with  him  from  that  boyhood  throughout  his 
life,  and  crowned  him  with  the  honors  that  were  so  cheer 
fully  awarded  to  him  from  all  hearts  over  this  vast  land. 

VIRTUE   AND  HER    REWARDS. 

There  was  another  thing.  He  passed  all  the  conditions 
of  virtuous  life,  between  the  log  cabin  in  Cuyahoga  and 
the  White  House,  and  in  that  wonderful,  rich  and  varied 
experience,  still  moving  up  from  high  to  higher,  he  has 
touched  every  heart  in  all  this  land  in  some  point  or  other, 
and  he  became  the  representative  of  all  hearts  and  lives  in 
this  land,  and  not  only  the  teacher  but  the  interpreter  of 
all  virtues,  for  he  knew  their  wauts,  and  he  knew  their  con 
dition,  and  he  established  legitimately  ties  of  brotherhood 
with  every  man  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  I  take  it 
that  this  law  lying  at  the  basis  of  his  character,  this  rock 
on  which  his  whole  life  rested,  followed  up  by  the  perpetual 
and  enduring  industry  that  marked  his  whole  career,  made 
him  at  once  the  honest  and  the  capable  man  who  invited  in 
every  act  of  his  life,  and  received  the  confidence  and  the 
love,  the  unbounded  confidence  and  trust,  of  all  who  learned 
to  know  him. 

A    ROUNDED    LIFE. 

There  is  yet  one  other  thing  that  I  ought  to  mention 
here.  There  was  such  an  admirable  harmony  of  all  his 
powers;  there  was  such  a  beautiful  adjustment  of  the  phy 
sical,  intellectual,  and  moral  in  his  being;  there  was  such 


22  A   GRAND  LIFE 

an  equitable  distribution  of  physical,  intellectual,  and 
moral  forces,  that  his  nature  looked  out  every  way  to  get  at 
sympathy  with  everything,  and  found  about  equal  delight 
in  all  pursuits  and  studies;  so  that  he  became,  through  his 
industry  and  honest  ambition,  really  an  encyclopedia. 
There  was  scarce  any  single  word  that  you  could  touch  to 
which  he  would  not  respond  in  a  way  that  made  you  know 
that  his  hands  had  swept  it  skillfully  long  ago,  and  there 
was  no  topic  you  could  bring  before  him,  there  was  no  ob 
ject  you  could  present  to  him,  that  you  did  not  wonder  at 
the  richness  and  fullness  of  information  somehow  gathered; 
for  his  eyes  were  always  open,  and  his  heart  vwas  always 
open;  and  his  brain  was  ever  busy,  and  equally  interested 
in  everything — the  minute  and  the  vast,  the  high  and  the 
low.  In  all  classes  and  professions  of  men  he  gathered  up 
that  immense  store,  and  that  immense  variety  of  the  most 
valuable  and  practical  knowledge  that  made  him  a  man, 
not  in  one  department,  but  in  all  rounds,  everywhere  his 
whole  beautiful  and  symmetrical  life  and  character.  But, 
my  friends,  the  solemnity  of  this  hour  forbids  any  further 
investigation  in  that  line,  any  further  detail  of  a  very  re 
markable  life.  For  these  details  you  are  familiar  with, 
or,  if  not,  they  will  come  before  you  through  various  chan 
nels  hereafter. 

THE  GREAT  LESSON. 

It  is  my  duty,  in  the  presence  of  the  dead,  and  in  view 
of  all  the  solemnities  that  rest  upon  us  now  in  a  solemn 
burial  service,  to  call  your  attention  to  the  great  lesson 
taught  you,  and  by  which  we  ought  to  become  wiser,  and 
purer,  and  better  men.  And  I  want  to  say,  therefore,  first 
of  all,  that  there  conies  a  voice  from  the  dead  to  this  entire 
nation,  and  not  only  to  the  people,  but  to  those  in  places 
of  trust — to  our  legislators  and  our  governors,  and  our 
military  men,  and  our  leaders  of  parties,  and  all  classes 


AND  ITS  GREAT  LESSONS.  23 

and  creeds  in  the  Unioti  and  in  the  States,  as  well  as  to 
those  who  dwell  in  the  humblest  life,  qualified  with  the 
dignities  and  privileges  of  citizenship. 

The  great  lesson  to  which  I  desire  to  point  you  can  be 
expressed  in  a  few  words.  James  A.  Garfield  went  through, 
his  whole  political  life  without  surrendering  for  a  moment 
his  Christian  integrity,  his  moral  character,  or  his  love 
for  the  spiritual. 

Coming  into  the  exciting  conflicts  of  political  life  with  a 
nature  capable  as  any  of  feeling  the  force  of  every  temp 
tation,  with  temptations  to  unholy  ambition,  with  unlawful 
prizes  within  his  reach,  with  every  inducement  to  surrender 
all  his  religious  faith  and  be  known  merely  as  a  successful 
man  of»the  world — from  first  to  last,  he  has  manfully  ad 
hered  to  his  religious  convictions  and  found  more  praise, 
and  gathers  to  him  in  his  death  all  the  pure  inspirations 
of  the  hope  of  everlasting  life. 

I  am  very  well  aware  of  a  feeling  among  political  men, 
justly  shared  in  all  over  the  land  by  those  who  engage  in 
political  life,  that  a  man  cannot  afford  to  be  a  politician  and 
a  Christian.  That  he  must  necessarily  forego  his  duty  to 
God,  and  be  abandoned  in  different  measures  of  policy  that 
may  be  necessary  to  enable  him  to  achieve  the  desired  re 
sult.  Now,  my  friends,  I  call  your  attention  to  this  grand 
life,  as  teaching  a  lesson  altogether  invaluable  just  at  this 
point.  I. want  you  to  look  at  that  man.  I  want  you  to 
think  of  him  in  his  early  manhood.  He  was  so  openly  com 
mitted  to  Christ  and  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion 
that  he  was  frequently  found,  among  a  people  who  allow 
large  liberty,  occupying  a  pulpit,  and  you  are  within  a  few 
miles  of  the  spot  where  great  congregations  gathered,  when 
he  was  as  yet  most  a  boy,  just  emerging  into  manhood,  week 
after  week,  and  hung  upon  the  words  that  fell  from  his  lips 
with  admiration,  wonder  and  enthusiasm.  It  was  that 
when  he  was  known  to  be  occupying  this  position  they  in- 


24  A   GRAND  LIFE 

vited  him  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  Ohio  State  Senate. 
It  was  with  the  full  knowledge  of  all  that  belonged  to  him 
in  his  Christian  faith  and  his  efforts  to  lead  a  Christian  life, 
that  this  was  tendered  to  him;  and  without  any  resort  to 
any  dishonorable  means  he  was  elected,  and  served  his  State 
and  began  his  legislative  career. 

When  the  country  was  called  to  arms,  when  the  Union 
was  in  danger,  and  his  great  heart  leaped  with  enthusiasm 
and  was  filled  with  holiest  desire,  and  ambitious  to  render 
some  service  to  his  country,  it  required  no  surrender  of  the 
dignity  and  nobleness  of  his  Christian  life  to  secure  to  him 
the  honors  that  fell  on  him  so  thick  and  fast,  and  the  suc 
cesses  that  followed  each  other  so  rapidly  as  to  make  him 
the  wonder  of  the  world,  though  he  ventured  upoji  that 
career  wholly  unacquainted  with  military  life,  and  could 
only  win  his  way  by  the  honesty  of  his  purpose  and  the 
diligence  and  faithfulness  with  which  he  seized  upon  every 
opportunity  to  accomplish  the  work  before  him.  Follow 
him  from  that  time  until  he  left  the  service  in  the  field.  The 
people  of  his  district  sent  him  to  Congress,  their  hearts 
gathering  about  him  without  any  effort  on  his  part,  and 
they  kept  him  there  as  long  as  he  would  stay,  and  they 
would  have  kept  him  there  yet  if  he  had  said  so.  He  re 
mained  there  until,  by  the  voice  of  the  people  of  this  State, 
when  there  were  other  bright,  and  strong,  and  good  names 
— men  who  were  entitled  to  recognition  and  reward,  and 
worthy  every  way  to  bear  senatorial  honors — he  was  sent 
to  the  United  States  Senate.  Yet  there  were  such  currents 
of  admiration,  and  sympathy,  and  trust,  and  love,  coining 
in  from  all  parts  of  the  State,  that  the  action  of  the  Legis 
lature  at  Columbus  was  but  the  echo  of  the  popular  voice 
when  by  acclamation  they  gave  him  that  place,  and  every 
other  candidate  gracefully  retired. 

And  then,  again,  when  he  went  to  Chicago  to  serve  the 
interests  of  another;  when,  I  know,  his  ambition  was  fully 


AND  ITS  GREAT  LESSONS.  25 

satisfied,  and  he  had  received  that  on  which  his  heart  was* 
set,  and  looked  with  more  than  gladness  for  a  path  in  life 
which  he  thought  his  entire  education  and  culture  had  pre 
pared  him;  when,  wearied  out  with  every  effort  to  com 
mand  a  majority  for  any  candidate,  the  hearts  of  that  great 
convention  turned  on  every  side  to  James  A.  Garfield.  In 
spite  of  himself  and  against  every  feeling,  wish,  and  prayer 
of  his  own  heart,  this  honor  was  crowded  upon  him;  and 
the  Nation  responded  with  holy  enthusiasm  from  one  end 
of  the  land  to  the  other;  and  in  the  same  honorable  way  he 
was  elected  to  the  Chief  Magistracy  under  circumstances 
which,  however  bitter  the  party  conflict,  caused  all  hearts  of 
all  parties  not  only  to  acquiesce,  but  to  feel  proud  in  the 
consciousness  that  we  had  a  Chief  Magistrate  of  whom 
they  need  not  be  ashamed  before  the  world,  and  unto  whom 
they  could  safely  confide  the  destinies  of  this  mighty  Na 
tion. 

TROTH    IS   THE    SURE   AND    ETERNAL   FOUNDATION. 

Now,  gentlemen,  let  me  say  to  you  all,  those  of  yon 
occupying  great  places  of  trust  who  are  here  to-day,  and  the 
mass  of  those  who  are  called  upon  to  discharge  the  respon 
sibilities  of  citizenship,  year  by  year,  the  most  invaluable 
lesson  that  we  learn  from  the  life  of  our  beloved,  departed 
President  is  that  not  only  is  it  not  incompatible  with  suc 
cess,  but  it  is  the  surest  means  of  success,  to  consecrate  heart 
and  life  to  that  which  is  true  and  right,  and  rise  above  all 
questions  of  mere  policy,  wedding  the  soul  to  truth  and 
right,  and  the  God  of  truth  and  righteousness  in  holy  wed 
lock,  never  to  be  dissolved. 

I  feel,  just  at  this  point,  that  we  need  this  lesson,  in  this 
great,  wondrous  land  of  ours,  this  mighty  Nation,  in  its 
marvelous  upward  career,  with  its  ever-increasing  power, 
opening  its  arms  to  receive  from  all  lands  the  people  of  all 
languages,  all  religions,  and  all  conditions,  and  hoping,  in 


26  A    GRAND  LIFE 

the  warm  embrace  of  political  brotherhood,  to  blend  them 
with  us,  to  melt  them  into  a  common  mass,  so  that,  when 
melted  and  run  over  again,  it  becomes  like  the  Corinthian 
brass,  and  in  one  type  of  manhood,  thus  incorporating  all 
the  various  nations  of  the  earth  in  one  grand  brotherhood, 
presenting  before  the  nations  of  the  world  a  spectacle  of 
freedom,  and  strength,  and  prosperity,  and  power,  beyond 
anything  the  world  has  ever  known. 

But  let  me  say  that  the  permanency  of  the  work  and  its 
continued  enlargement  must  depend  on  our  maintaining 
virtue  as  well  as  intelligence,  and  making  dominant  in  all 
the  land  those  principles  of  pure  morality  that  Jesus  Christ 
has  taught  us.     Just  as  we  cling  to  that  we  are  safe,  and 
just  as  we  forget  and  depart  from  that  we  proceed  toward  dis 
aster  and  ruin,  and  this,  now  when  we  see  what  has  been 
accomplished  in  a  mighty  life  like  this,  is  an  instance  of 
the  power  of  truth  and  right  which  spreads  from  heart  to 
heart,  and  from  life  to  life,  and  from  State  to  State,  and 
finally  from  nation  to  nation,   until,  these  pure  principles 
reigning  everywhere,  God  shall  realize  his  great  purpose, 
so  long  ago  expressed  to  us  in  the  words  of  prophecy,  that 
the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  Kingdoms  of 
our  God  and  of  his  Christ;  so  that,   then,  over  the  dead 
body  of  James  A.  Garfield  may  all   the  people  join  hands 
and  swear  by  the  Eternal  God  that  they  will  dismiss  all 
unworthy  purposes,  and  love  and  worship  only  the  true  and 
the  right,  and  in   the  inspiration  of  the  grand   principles 
that  Jesus  Christ  has  taught,  seeking  to  realize  the  grand 
ends  of  the  high  civilization  to   which   His  word  of  truth 
and  right  continually  point  us.     I  cannot  prolong  my  re 
marks  to  any  great  extent. 

There  are  two  or  three  things  that  I  must  say,  however, 
before  I  close.  There  is  a  voice  to  the  Church  in  this 
death  that  I  cannot  pause  now  to  speak  of  particularly. 


AND  ITS  GREAT  LESSONS.  27 

There  is  a  tenderer  and  a  more  awful  voice  that  speaks  to 
the  members  of  the  family — to  that  sacred  circle  within 
which  really  his  true  life  and  character  were  better  devel 
oped  and  more  perfectly  known  than  anywhere  else.  What 
words  can  tell  the  weight  of  anguish  that  rests  upon  the 
hearts  of  those  who  so  dearly  loved  him,  shared  with  him 
the  sweet  sanctities  of  his  home — the  pure  life,  the  gentle 
ness,  the  kindness,  and  the  manliness  that  pervaded  all  his 
actions,  and  made  his  home  a  charming  one  for  its  inmates, 
and  for  all  that  shared  in  his  hospitalities.  It  is  of  all 
things  the  saddest  and  most  grievous  blow,  that  those 
bound  to  him  by  the  tenderest  ties  in  the  home  circle,  are 
called  to  yield  him  to  the  grave,  to  hear  that  voice  of  love 
no  more,  to  behold  that  manly  form  no  longer  moving  in 
the  sacred  circle  of  home,  to  receive  no  more  the  benefit  of 
the  loving  hand  of  the  father  that  rested  upon  the  heads  of 
his  children,  and  commended  the  blessings  of  God  upon 
them. 

THE    MOTHEB. 

The  dear  old  mother,  who  realizes  here  to-day  that  her 
four- score  years  are,  after  all,  but  labor  and  sorrow — to 
whom  we  owe — back  of  all  I  have  spoken  of,  the  education 
and  training  that  made  him  what  he  was,  and  who  has  been 
led  from  that  humble  home  in  the  wilderness,  side  by  side 
with  him  in  all  his  elevation,  and  assured  him  the  triumph 
and  the  glory  that  came  to  him  step  by  step,  as  he  mounted 
up  from  high  to  higher,  to  receive  the  highest  honors  that 
the  land  could  bestow  upon  him;  left  behind  him, linger 
ing  on  the  shore  where  he  has  passed  over  to  the  other  side 
what  words  can  express  the  sympathy  that  is  due  to  her,  or 
the  consolation  that  can  strengthen  her  heart  and  give  her 
courage  to  bear  this  bitter  bereavement? 

THE  WIFE. 
And  the  wife,  who  began  with  him  in  young  womanood, 


28  A   GRAND  LIFE 

who  has  bravely  kept  step  with  him  right  along  through  all 
his  wondrous  career,  and  who  has  been  not  only  his  wife, 
but  his  friend  and  counselor  through  all  their  succession  of 
prosperities  and  his  increase  of  influence  and  power,  and 
who,  when  the  day  of  calamity  came,  was  there,  his  minis 
tering  angel,  his  prophetess  and  his  priestess,  when  the  cir 
cumstances  were  such  as  to  forbid  ministrations  from  other 
hands,  speaking  to  him  the  words  of  cheer  which  sustained 
him  through  that  long,  fearful  struggle  for  life,  and  watch 
ing  over  him  when  his  dying  vision  rested  upon  her  beloved 
form,  and  sought  from  her  eyes  an  insuring  gaze  that 
should  speak  when  words  could  not  speak. 

THE    CHILDREN. 

And  the  children,  that  have  grown  up  to  a  period  when 
they  can  remember  all  that  belonged  to  him,  left  fatherless 
in  a  world  like  this;  yet,  surrounded  with  a  Nation's  sym 
pathy  and  with  a  world's  affection,  and  able  to  treasure  in 
their  hearts  its  grand  lessons  of  his  noble  and  wondrous 
life,  may  be  assured  that  the  eyes  of  the  Nation  are  upon 
them,  and  that  the  hearts  of  the  people  go  out  after  them. 
While  there  is  much  to  support  and  encourage,  it  is  still  a 
sad  thing,  and  calls  for  our  deepest  sympathy,  that  they 
have  lost  such  a  father,  and  are  left  to  make  their  way 
through  this  rough  world  without  his  guiding  hand  or  his 
wise  counsels.  But  that  which  makes  this  terrible  to  them 
now  is  just  that  which,  as  the  years  go  by,  will  make  very 
sweet,  and  bright,  and  joyous  memories  to  fill  all  the  lips 
of  the  coming  years.  By  the  very  loss  which  they  deplore, 
and  by  all  the  loving  actions  that  bound  them  in  blessed 
sympathy  in  the  home  circle,  they  will  live  over  again  ten 
thousand  times  all  the  sweet  life  of  the  past,  and.  though 
dead,  he  will  live  with  them,  and  though  his  tongue  be 
dumb  in  the  grave  will  speak  anew  to  them  ten  thousand 
beautiful  lessons  of  love,  and  righteousness,  and  truth. 


AND  ITS  GREAT  LESSONS.  29 

.    '  THE     DIVINE     BENEDICTIONS. 

May  God,  in  His  infinite  mercy,  fold  them  in  His  arms 
and  bless  them  as  they  need  in  this  hour  of  darkness,  and 
bear  them  safely  through  what  remains  of  the  troubles  and 
sorrows  of  the  pilgrimage  unto  the  everlasting  home,  where 
there  shall  be  no  more  death,  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there 
be  any  more  pain,  for  the  former  things  shall  have  forever 
passed  away.  We  commit  you,  beloved  friends,  to  the  arms 
and  to  the  care  of  the  everlasting  Father  who  has  promised 
to  be  the  God  of  the  widow  and  the  father  of  the  father 
less,  in  His  holy  habitation,  and  whose  sweet  promise  goes 
with  us  through  all  the  dark  and  stormy  paths  of  life:  "  I 
will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee."  I  have  discharged 
now  the  solemn  covenant  trust  reposed  in  me  many  years 
ago,  in  harmony  with  a  friendship  that  has  never  known  a 
cloud,  a  confidence  that  has  never  trembled,  and  a  love  that 
has  never  changed.  Fare  thee  well,  my  friend  and  brother; 
"Thou  hast  fought  a  good  fight;  thou  hast  finished  thy 
course;  thou  hast  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is  laid 
up  for  thee  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the 
Righteous  Judge,  will  give  to  thee  on  that  day,  and  not 
unto  thee  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  who  love  His  appear- 
ing." 


JAMES  A.  GARFIELD-A  CITY  SET  ON  A  HILL 

BY  PROP.  SWING. 

Delivered  In  Music  Hall,  Chicago,  Sept.  25, 1881.    (Pull  report.) 
"  A  city  set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid."    Matt.  5:15. 

IN  that  part  of  our  earth  which  was  made  memorable  by 
the  presence  of  Jesus,  many  of  the  cities  and  towns  were 
located  upon  the  summit  of  a  hill  or  mountain.  The  op 
pressive  temperature  of  the  summer  months,  and  military 
considerations,  and  also  a  sense  of  the  beautiful,  led  those 
who  were  about  to  found  a  village  or  a  city  to  seek  not  al 
ways  some  river-bank  or  lake-shore,  but  some  hill,  or  crag, 
or  mountain.  Nazareth,  the  town  of  Christ's  early  life, 
was  on  a  height,  and  on  one  side  there  was  a  fearful  preci 
pice,  down  which  the  offended  citizens  tl^reatened  to  throw 
Him  who  had  rebuked  their  sins.  The  two  mountains, 
Moriah  and  Sion,  remind  us  that  Jerusalem  was  seated 
upon  lofty  heights,  and  was  a  grand  spectacle  to  the  traveler 
who  was  journeying  thither  in  its  palmy  days.  The  Tem 
ple  of  Solomon,  the  palace^  of  the  King  and  his  court, 
with  the  walls  and  watch- towers,  made  up  an  impressive 
scene  to  all  coining  along  the  valleys  of  Kedron  and  Hin- 
nom,  and  fully  justified  the  thought  of  Christ  that  "a  city 
set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid." 

(30) 


A   CITY  SET  ON  A   HILL.  31 

The  domain  of  Christ  was  spiritual;  when  He  spoke  of 
material  things  He  had  the  spiritual  qualities  of  our  world 
in  His  mind.  He  wished  that  His  disciples  might  possess 
virtues  so  great  and  so  active  that  all  society  might  beliold 
and  enjoy  their  righteousness  and  benevolence.  The  ages 
had  been  full  of  diminutive  persons  who  lived  only  for  self 
and  for  all  small  results — persons  like  to  lighted  candles 
placed  under  a  bushel.  It  was  time  other  forms  of  soul 
should  appear;  time  for  the  world  to  have  minds  and  hearts 
that  should  be  as  large  and  visible  as  cities  upon  mountains. 

Soon  after  the  great  Palestine  Teacher  had  uttered  Hid 
wish  and  had  given  the  nations  a  specimen  of  a  soul  too 
large  and  too  lofty  to  be  concealed,  the  dream  began  to  find 
fulfillment  in  many  of  the  departments  of  human  life. 
Thought  and  sentiment  began  to  be  enlarged,  history  began 
to  record  greater  actions  and  to  receive  into  its  storehouse 
greater  biographies.  There  came  along  in  the  living  tide 
men  whose  heads  rose  above  the  multitude  like  the  tall 
cliff  which  "  midway  leaves  the  storm." 

HUMAN   GREATNESS    AND    SORROW. 

Our  Nation  mourns  to-day  the  loss  of  one  too  lofty  to  be 
concealed.  All  the  grades  of  society,  looking  up  from  the 
door  of  cottage  or  palace,  see  this  outline  of  a  scholar,  and 
statesman,  and  soldier,  and  President,  and  all  mourn -that 
the  image  is  no  longer  to  be  seen  in  life,  but  only  in  death's 
pallor.  The  spectacle  is  made  unusual,  not  only  by  the 
merit  of  the  dead  man,  but  also  by  the  savage  cruelty  of  the 
wound  that  robbed  this  citizen  of  his  existence.  The  eighty 
days  of  physical  and  mental  suffering,  of  alternate  hope  and 
fear,  days  which  reduced  a  powerful  man  to  the  powers  of 
only  an  infant,  add  their  awful  part  toward  placing  this 
name  fully  before  the  civilized  portion  of  the  world.  Made 
conspicuous  by  his  character  and  works,  Mr.  Garfield  be 
comes  conspicuous  by  his  misfortune.  Thus  this  figure 


82  JAMES   A.   GARFIELD; 

stands  as  upon  a  hill,  and  it  will  require  centuries  full  of 
men  and  of  events  to  hide  its  colossal  outline  from  the  gaze 
of  mankind.  Man  is  drawn  toward  the  pathetic.  What 
touches  his  heart,  touches  also  his  memory.  Pity  often 
makes  up  a  large  element  in  love.  Had  Mr.  Garfield  died 
of  disease  or  by  the  limitation  of  nature,  he  would  have  been 
a  large  subject  of  study,  but  millions  will  read  his  biography 
in  coming  years  because  it  ends  in  the  awful  cloud  of  trag 
edy.  What  do  we  witness  to-day,  and  what  will  those 
behold  who  shall  in  future  times  run  over  the  black  and 
white  page  in  history — black  with  misfortune,  white  in  vir 
tue?  It  must  come  to  us  as  a  peculiar  fact  that  two  of  the 
greatest  of  American  names  are  now  made  more  sacred  by 
the  sadness  of  their  deaths.  As  though  the  overruling 
Providence  desired  that  the  young  men  of  this  era  and  of 
future  times  should  study  deeply  the  lives  of  Garfield  and 
Lincoln,  their  deaths  were  made  tragic  to  allure  the  student 
toward  their  chapters  in  the  annals  of  society. 

YOUNG  GARFIELD  AND  LIBEBTT. 

Looking  at  this  man,  not  easy  to  be  hidden,  we  seo  the 
ability  of  our  country  to  produce  a  high  order  of  manhood. 
That  liberty  which  in  name  has  been  the  ideal  condition  of 
all  ages,  here  verifies  all  the  old  hopes  and  produces  a  sym 
metrical  character  strong  on  every  side.  When  a  lad,  this 
Garfield  enjoyed  the  free  play  of  all  his  intellectual  and 
emotional  faculties.  He  was  free  to  move  toward  books, 
and  profession,  and  wisdom.  All  the  gates  to  success  would 
open  to  him  as  they  had  opened  to  a  Webster  or  a  Clay. 
He  was  not  imprisoned  by  birth  nor  by  caste.  The  path 
to  law  or  statesmanship  was  as  free  to  him  as  the  path  along 
the  canal,  and  out  of  this  freedom  of  a  continent  came  an 
ambition  of  great  power.  Often  when  distinguished  visit 
ors  appear  in  London  they  are  given  the  freedom  of  the 
city  in  a  gold  box — an  elegant  letter,  before  which  the  doors 


A    CITY  SET  ON  A   HILL.  33 

of  galleries,  and  libraries,  and  parliaments,  and  cathedrals 
fly  open. 

To  this  youth,  poor  and  unknown,  the  Nation  gave  the 
freedom  of  the  whole  circle  of  human  acquisition,  from  the 
study  of  Greek  to  a  place  in  the  army;  from  the  hall  of  the 
law-maker  to  the  chair  of  a  President;  and  his  ambition 
and  energy  were  inspired  by  the  generous  offer.  Freedom 
does  not  confer  merit,  but  it  affords  an  opportunity,  and 
even  allures  the  heart  along  by  its  possible  rewards.  It 
creates  a  landscape  which  charms  the  eye  of  each  one  set 
ting  out  upon  the  journey  of  life.  Despotism  offers  a  des 
ert  to  all  the  humble  of  birth.  If  poor  and  of  low  parent 
age,  the  mind  sees  only  an  arid  plain,  without  tree  or  blos 
som,  but  the  liberty  and  equality  of  this  land  make  it  op 
tional  with  the  traveler  whether  the  plain  he  is  to  pass  over 
shall  be  a  desert  or  a  magnificent  garden.  All  is  left  to 
personal  taste,  and  industry  and  will.  And  this  taste,  and 
industry,  and  personal  power,  are  developed  by  the  many, 
and  great  rewards  offered  to  their  growth.  Mr.  Garfield  is 
one  more  witness  in  this  great  spiritual  trial,  and  his  testi 
mony  is  direct,  that  the  liberty  of  America  is  the  greatest 
opportunity  ever  offered  to  man  as  man.  Elsewhere  re 
wards  are  offered  to  the  few;  here  all  are  invited  to  the  best 
feast  of  earth. 

LESSONS  FOR  THE  YOTJNQ. 

In  this  eminent  man  the  youth  of  to-day  may  learn  that 
early  poverty  and  hardships,  instead  of  breaking  the  heart, 
need  only  sober  the  judgment  and  compel  that  common 
sense  to  come  early  and  richly,  which  to  the  children  of 
luxury  comes  scantily  and  comes  late,  if  ever  it  finds  a 
dawn.  We  can  now  look  back  and  perceive  that  the  hard 
ships  in  the  youth  of  him  who  died  as  a  President  was 
only  a  condition  of  things  which  made  all  the  philosophy 
which  came  to  the  young  man  assume  a  practical  form.  It 
3 


84  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD; 

was  not  thought  a  philosophy  unless  it  held  in  its  solution 
much  of  human  happiness;  for  when  a  toiler  along  a  canal 
meditates,  it  will  be  for  the  welfare  of  man;  just  as  when  a 
slave  thinks,  he  thinks  of  liberty;  just  as  when  a  fever- 
patient  dreams,  his  dream  is  about  cold  water.  It  has  been 
stated  recently  that  the  dreams  and  laws  of  reform  and  all 
welfare  do  not  come  down  from  the  rich  and  great,  but 
up  from  the  poor.  Therefore  those  statesmen  who 
have  tasted  some  of  the  bitter  things  of  the  world  know 
best  how  badly  the  waters  need  sweetening.  This  patient 
toiler  wrought  out  an  economy  for  the  millions  of  youth 
here  and  everywhere.  He  showed  what  will  and  industry 
and  exalted  purposes  can  accomplish  in  this  wide  land — 
that  all  the  young  need  ask  as  an  endowment  is  mental  and 
physical  health.  That  is  the  essential  capital  upon  which 
to  base  a  large  business  in  things  either  mental  or  spiritual. 

MAN?8    DIGNITY  AND  GREATNESS. 

Out  of  energy  and  taste  comes  the  real  dignity  of  man. 
This  dead  President  carries  us  back  to  the  theory  of  old 
Plato,  that  motion  or  energy  lies  at  the  origin  of  t'le  uni 
verse;  that  the  starry  skies  and  the  variegated  earth  are  only 
expressions  of  the  self-moved  mind.  To  this  notion  this 
one  heart  brings  UB  back,  for  out  of  its  self-moved  depths 
there  issued  a  moral  world  of  great  attractiveness.  Edu 
cation,  learning,  religion,  politics,  duty,  honor,  and  high 
office  emerged  from  the  mind  which  began  its  career  far 
down  in  weakness.  That  force  made  all  the  humble  days 
and  years  to  be  rich  veins  of  the  later  silver  and  gold. 

As  in  the  theology  of  nature  we  gather  up  the  infinite 
phenomena  of  land,  and  sea,  and  sky,  and  say  the  One  mind 
made  all  these  wonderful  and  beautiful  things,  so  in  reading 
this  biography,  whose  last  page  has  just  been  written  in 
tears,  the  reader  will  say,  Behold  what  goodness  and  great 
ness  have  moved  out  of  that  one  heart  in  royal  pageantry  ! 


A   CITY  SET  ON  A   HILL.  35 

Was  James  A.  Garfield  great!  Ask  those  early  years, 
when  adverse  winds  always  assailed  his  bark;  ask  the  nights 
of  study;  ask  the  schools  where  he  taught;  ask  the  place 
where  he  worshiped;  ask  the  halls  where  he  helped  enact 
wise  laws;  ask  the  battle-fields  where  he  led  soldiers;  ask 
the  magnificent  Capitol  where  he  was  crowned  as  republi 
cans  crown  their  chieftains;  ask  the  cottage  where  he 
died. 

If  out  of  the  answers  to  these  questions  there  comes  not 
the  witness  of  greatness,  the  human  heart  must  henceforth 
toil  and  long  in  vain.  Earth  has  no  greatness.  And  yet 
all  this  human  excellence  grew  up  out  of  our  national  re 
sources,  as  though  to  show  the  world  the  peculiar  richness 
of  the  soil;  and  grew  inland  so  far  that  we  cannot  say 
that  England  or  Europe  combined  with  America  to  cause 
this  character. 

The  boy  and  man  lived  in  the  heart  of  the  continent  all 
surrounded  by  his  country;  and  he  lies  in  his  coffin  to-day 
a  dead  child  of  his  Nation.  The  country  mourns  to-day,  not 
only  because  a  man  has  died,  and  died  unjustly  and  pain 
fully,  but  also  because  that  man  was  her  son.  She  had 
reared  him,  she  saw  her  own  likeness  in  his  face,  she  loved 
him;  in  him  were  a  mother's  hopes.  This  land  herein 
shows  not  only  the  power  of  its  institutions  to  fashion  a  no 
ble  character,  but  that  power  of  appreciation  and  grief 
that  can  weep  for  one  thus  overtaken  by  death. 

SIGNS   OF    A    HIGHER    CIVILIZATION. 

In  the  scene  of  these  few  days  we  must  mark  some  signs 
of  a  higher  civilization  and  a  more  sensitive  brotherhood. 
Looking  at  the  assassin  we  might  despair  of  th<  present 
and  the  future.  We  might  wonder  what- is  tlu  .hie  of 
school-house,  and  church,  and  literature,  and  freedom,  and 
the  eloquence  over  human  rights,  if  out  of  these  beautiful 
things  there  can  stalk  a  man  much  more  cruel  than  a  brute 


36  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD; 

But  while  the  heart  wonders  and  sinks  over  the  name  of 
that  one  savage,  it  is  cheered  by  seeing  a  whole  civilised  race 
moved  by  a  divine  pity. 

One  vile  human  creature  wished  to  remove  Garfield  from 
life,  but  millions  upon  millions  wished  him  to  live — live 
happily  and  live  long.  Men  of  wealth  and  men  of  poverty, 
men  of  learning  and  men  of  scanty  education,  men  of  all 
the  political  parties,  men  in  the  South  and  men  in  the 
North,  and  the  crowned  Kings  and  Queens,  loved  the  life  of 
this  one  man,  and  would,  by  their  esteem,  have  carried  him 
beyond  the  common  three-score  years  of  pilgrimage.  His 
death  was  desired  by  the  lowest  one  of  the  human  race;  it  is 
lamented  by  the  entire  population  of  two  continents. 

If  we  count  or  measure  these  tears,  if  we  see  the  Queen 
of  England  ordering  her  court  to  put  on  the  emblems  of 
mourning,  we  cannot  but  conclude  that  the  hate  of  the  one 
assassin  is  sublimely  outweighed  by  the  esteem  of  the 
world.  In  the  presence  of  such  an  uprising  of  brotherly 
esteem  the  murderer  finds  his  proper  depth  of  infamy.  In 
the  light  of  a  universal  love  we  see  the  dark  cruelty  of  the 
crime. 

But  we  must  not  forget  that  we  have  assembled  to-day  in 
the  name  of  the  weekly  service  of  God.  If  in  this  life  of  a 
President  any  quality  of  Christianity  is  placed  upon  a 
mountain  top,  that  quality  cannot  remain  hidden.  In  our 
times,  when  there  is  threatened  an  eclipse  of  faith,  all  relig 
ious  minds  must  be  happy  to  recall  the  public  man  who  in 
his  best  manhood  saw  the  power  of  a  belief  in  God.  He 
realized  the  perfect  grandeur  of  the  words:  "The  Lord 
.Reigns."  He  uttered  them  in  an  hour  of  great  national 
darkness,  and  the  populace  needed  no  other  eloquence;  and 
when  in  July  last  the  one  who  had  offered  consolation  in 
calau..ty  needed  some  refuge  for  himself,  he  said  he  was 
ready  to  die  or  to  live.  Not  the  details  of  any  church  faith 
came,  but  the  great  ideas  of  the  Christian  religion  grouped 


A    CITY  SET  ON  A   HILL.  •          Jy, 

themselves  around  his  bed — the  best  angels  of  those  sad 
nights,  for  they  were  to  help  him  when  the  skill  of  man 
should  fail. 

GARFIELD'S  RELIGION. 

It  would  be  unjust  to  the  name  of  Christ  to  say  that 
Mr.  Garfield's  religion  was  only  that  of  Nature,  only  such 
general  thoughts  as  were  cherished  by  Greek  and  Roman 
pagans.  His  faith  came  to  him  through  the  Church  of 
the  age  as  it  communicates  its  ideas  through  pulpit  and 
press  and  the  Testament,  as  it  is  wont  to  surround  and 
teach  the  young  all  through  the  days  of  formation,  of  pas 
sion,  and  temptation.  That  Church  encompassed  this 
youth  with  its  hymns,  and  morals,  and  trust,  and  hope, 
and  if  at  last  the  world  saw  evidences  of  that  honor  so 
conspicuous  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  that  belief 
in  Heaven  so  visible  in  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  under  some  obli 
gation  to  confess  that  Christianity  helped  form  that  char 
acter  which  to-day  all  admire  and  lament.  Beyond  doubt, 
daily  association  with  learned  men  of  all  the  different  re 
ligious  sects,  and  the  daily  discovery  that  many  creeds 
made  only  one  kind  of  religious  manhood,  turned  Mr. 
Garfield  away  from  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  a  denomi 
nation,  and  led  him  into  the  concord  of  faith  rather  than  in 
to  its  discord;  but  in  estimating  the  greatness  of  hh  charac 
ter  we  must  declare  that  his  moral  symmetry  was  Christ- 
like,  and  Christlike  his  repose  in  the  hope  of  a  second  life. 
From  his  official  and  personal  height  he  reminds  the  whole 
land  that  there  should  be  church  doors  open  to  all  the  youth, 
inviting  them  away  from  the  sins  of  the  street  and  from  the 
freezing  touch  of  a  Godless  air — there  should  be  a  Siuiday 
secured  to  the  young  and  old,  that  there  might  be  //;-»me 
hours  of  sunlight  for  these  delicate  plants-— faith  and  i»pir 
itnality.  If  our  Nation,  destined  in  a.  p; operation  or  more 
to  surpass  all  upon  the  globe  in  power-,  /r.n Serial  and  men 


88      .  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD; 

tal,  desires  to  be  governed  by  able  and  good  men,  it  must 
see  to  it  that  the  school-house  and  the  church,  with  its  day 
of  rest,  are  kept  open,  for  through  these  the  youth  pass  on 
their  way  to  all  great  beauty  of  character  and  usefulness  of 
Ufa 

GARFIELD    AND    LINCOLN. 

It  has  been  the  reproach  of  our  country  that  it  is  not 
rich  in  history;  that  the  mind  must  look  beyond  the  ocean 
or  travel  beyond  the  ocean  to  reach  the  presence  of  all  that 
is  deemed  impressive.  We  have  no  venerable  architecture, 
no  historic  church,  no  places  of  fame,  no  throne-rooms,  or 
prisons,  or  towers,  or  crowns,  or  jewels,  made  affecting  by 
the  annals  of  a  thousand  years.  This  objection  to  onr  new 
world  is  well  made;  but  this  poverty  of  our  country  is  be 
ing  rapidly  exchanged  for  riches — the  riches  seen  in  such 
men  as  Lincoln  and  Garfield,  and  similar  moral  products 
of  the  .Republic.  A  nation  will  not  long  remain  without 
history  when  the  lives  of  such  men  are  rapidly  entering 
into  the  great  open  page.  The  Old  World  in  its  thousand- 
year  period,  reaching  from  the  tenth  century  to  the  nine 
teenth,  cannot  point  us  to  better  names — names  which 
stand  for  a  better  union  of  intelligence,  and  ability,  and 
integrity,  and  charity,  and  heroism.  Old  history  can  point 
us  to  violent  deaths  of  rulers,  and  can  say:  here  Charles  !• 
was  behear  ed,  here  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  died,  here  Marat 
was  slain;  but  our  two  great  Presidents  have  been  slain, 
not  by  a  multitude  which  was  wronged,  but  by  private 
fanatics,  in  their  attack  as  unauthorized  as  beasts  of  prey; 
and,  while  old  history  abounds  in  instances  where  men  died 
for  some  sins  or  wrongs,  our  new  history  points  us  to  two 
great  leaders  who  were  the  unhappy  victims  each  of  a  sin 
gle  wicked  heart;  and  died  to  gratify  no  party,  but  amid 
the  tears  of  all  parties  and  factions  of  the  land. 


A   CITY  SET  ON  A   HILL.  89 


THE   WHITE   PAGES   OF    HISTORY. 

Rapidly  is  our  country  making  up  a  history  which  will 
surpass  those  books  we  read  in  our  early  years.  It  cannot 
be  affirmed  of  many  of  these  illustrious  ones  whose  names 
besprinkle  the  records  of  human  life  that  they  surpassed  thie 
Garfield  in  the  power  to  measure  the  wants  of  society,  and 
in  the  sympathy  that  cannot  forget  the  welfare  of  the 
people.  Where  ancient  great  men  trampled  about  in  the 
living  fields,  this  man  walked  softly,  fearing  lest  some  flower 
might  be  crushed.  That  attachment  to  the  aged  mother, 
that  measureless  attachment  to  the  wife,  were  only  eviden 
ces  that  this  President  was  the  type  and  product  of  a  new 
age  which  was  putting  aside  ferocity,  and  was  reaching  a 
sensibility  as  to  human  rights  which  was  not  present  in  the 
men  who  ruled  once  those  nations  which  now  boast  of  pos 
sessing  history.  The  American  pages  may  not  be  many, 
but  comparatively  they  are  white. 

Must  we  not  to-day  read  anew  the  lesson  of  mortality  ! 
Must  not  we  who  have  come  into  this  church  from  the 
many  paths  of  the  world,  along  which  paths  we,  too,  are 
allured  by  some  one  of  the  many  forms  of  ambition  and 
hope,  feel  deeply  the  undeniable  fact  that  we  are  all  hasten 
ing  to  the  end  ?  The  closing  scene  may  not  be  tragic,  but 
it  is  coming.  We  are  asked  to  think  of  these  things  by 
the  memory  of  both  Lincoln  and  Garfield,  for  I  they  were 
both  half-melancholy  men — the  former  loving  pJthetic  po 
etry,  the  latter  even  writing  it.  Lincoln  in  the  height  of 
his  fame  would  say  : 

"  The  hand  of  the  king  that  the  sceptre  hath  home, 
The  brow  of  the  priest  that  the  mitre  hath  worn, 
The  eye  of  the  sage  and  the  heart  of  the  hrave, 
Are  hidden  and  lost  in  the  depths  of  the  grave. 

"  The  peasant  whose  lot  was  to  sow  and  to  reap, 
The  herdsman  who  climbed  with  his  goats  up  the  rteep, 
The  beggar  who  wandered  in  search  of  his  bread, 
Have  faded  away  like  the  grass  that  we  tread," 


40  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

And  Mr.  Garfield,  in  the  Light  of  his  success,  looked  out 
upon  the  earth  of  his  triumph  with  sad  eyes.  He  was 
unable  to  forget  that  he  and  all  he  loved  were  being  borne 
along  by  arras  mysterious  and  powerful.  All  sensitive 
minds  are  pathetic  and  almost  superstitious  in  their  hours 
of  meditation.  The  dictates  of  reason  are  not  able  to  coun 
teract  fully  the  deep  attachments  of  the  heart  to  life  and 
friends  and  all  the  loved  ones.  When  the  great  are  warm 
hearted  they  are  melancholy  and  most  plaintive.  May  you 
all  possess  such  a  pathetic  estimate  of  our  earth;  may  you 
all  see  the  tomb  ward  march  of  man,  so  read  the  vanity  of 
riches,  and  fame,  and  home,  and  love,  that  you  shall  be 
compelled  to  become  children  of  God  and  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  thus  children  of  the  final  country  that  knows  no  fu 
neral  pageants,  no  days  of  bitter  disappointment. 


JAMES  A.  GARFIELD-"  MIGHTIER  DEAD 
THAN  LIVING." 

BY  DB.  T.  DB  WITT  TALMAQE. 

Delivered  in  Brooklyn  Tabernacle,  Sept.  25, 1881— (full  report.) 

And  the  dead  which  he  slew  at  his  death  were  more  than  they  which  he  slew  in 
his  life.    Judges,  16:30. 

SAMPSON  in  the  text  was  deified  and  became  the  Hercu 
les  of  Greece.  He  was  a  giant  warrior  born  to  be  a  leader, 
and  Paul  applauds  him  as  a  man  who  through  faitb  sub 
dued  kingdoms.  "He  was  a  friend  of  God  and  an  enemy 
of  unrighteousness."  But  the  most  memorable  scene  in  his 
life  was  the  death  scene.  The  Philistines,  his  enemies, 
gathered  round  him  in  a  great  building  to  mock  him. 
"With  supernatural  strength  he  laid  hold  of  the  pillars  and 
flung  everything  into  ruin,  destroying  the  lives  of  the  3,000 
scoffers,  among  them  the  Lords  of  Philistia.  He  had  slain 
many  of  the  enemies  of  God  during  his  life,  but  my  text 
says  his  last  achievement  was  the  mightiest.  "  So  the  dead 
which  he  slew  at  his  death  were  more  than  they  which  he 
slew  in  his  life."  It  is  sometimes  the  case  that  after  a 
most  industrious,  useful  and  eminent  life,  the  last  hours 
are  more  potent  than  the  long  years  that  went  before.  In 
the  overshadowing  event  of  this  day,  we  find  illustration  of 
my  text. 

(41) 


42  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD; 

President  Garfield,  as  many  orators  will  say,  was  all  bis 
life  the  enemy  of  sin,  the  enemy  of  sectionalism,  the  enemy 
of  everything  small-hearted  and  impure  and  debasing.  He 
made  many  a  crushing  blow  against  those  moral  and  polit 
ical  Philistines,  but  in  his  death  he  made  mightier  con 
quest. 

The  eleven  weeks  of  dying  made  a  more  illustrious  record 
than  the  fifty  years  of  living.  "  So  the  dead  which  he  slew 
at  his  death  were  more  than  they  which  he  slew  in  his  life." 
As  a  matter  of  inspiration  and  comfort,  I  propose  to  show 
you  that  President  Garfield's  expiration  is  a  mightier  good 
than  a  prolonged  lifetime  possibly  could  be.  Mind  you, 
there  was  no  time  at  which  his  death-bed  could  have  been 
so  emphatic.  If  he  had  died  a  few  years  before,  his  depar 
ture  would  not  have  been  so  conspicuous.  If  he  had  died 
one  month  before,  his  administration  would  not  have  been 
fairly  launched.  If  he  had  died  six  months  later,  his  ad 
vanced  policy  of  reform  would  have  cut  the  friendship  of  a 
great  multitude,  and  if  he  had  died  years  after  he  would 
have'  been  out  of  office  and  in  the  decline  of  life.  But  he 
died  at  the  time  when  all  parties*  had  turned  to  him  with 
unparalleled  expectation.  There  has  not  been  a  time  in  all 
the  fifty  years  of  his  past  when  his  death-bed  could  have 
been  so  effective,  and  in  the  next  fifty  years  there  could  not 
have  been  a  time  when  his  death-bed  would  have  been  so 
impressive. 

GARFIELD'S  REMARKABLE  DEATH. 

First,  our  President's  death,  more  than  his  life,  eulogizes 
the  Christian  religion.  We  all  talk  about  the  hope  of  the 
Christian,  and  the  courage  of  the  Christian,  and  the  pa 
tience  of  the  Christian.  Put  all  the  sermons  on  these  sub 
jects  for  the  last  twenty  years  together,  and  they  would 
not  make  such  an  impression  as  the  magnificent  demeanor 
of  this  djring  Chief  Magistrate.  He  was  no  more  afraid  to 


MIGHTIER  DEAD   THAN  LIVING.  43 

die  than  you  are  to  go  home  this  morning.  Without  one 
word  of  complaint  he  endured  an  anguish  that  his  autopsy 
alone  could  reveal  to  the  astonished  world.  For  eighty 
days  in  inquisition  of  pain,  yet  often  smiling,  often  facetious, 
always  calm ;  giving  military  salute  to  a  soldier  who  hap 
pened  to  look  in  at  the  window,  talking  with  Cabinet  offi 
cers  about  the  affairs  of  state,  reading  the  public  bulletins 
in  regard  to  his  condition,  watching  his  own  pulse,  and  so 
undisturbed  of  soul  that  I  warrant  if  it  had  not  been  for  his 
dependent  family  and  the  Nation,  whom  he  wanted  to 
serve,  he  would  have  been  glad  to  depart  any  time.  O, 
sirs!  all  he  ever  did  in  confirmation  of  religion  in  days  of 
health  was  nothing  compared  with  what  he  did  for  it  in 
this  last  crisis.  James  A.  Garfield  learned  his  religion 
from  his  mother,  when  she  was  trying,  in  widowhood  and 
poverty,  to  bring  up  her  boys  aright;  from  that  same  old 
mother  who  sat  with  her  Bible  in  her  lap  in  her  bed-room 
last  Tuesday,  when  the  news  came  that  her  son  was  dead. 

James  A.  Garfield  had  no  new  religion  to  experiment 
with  in  his  last  hours.  It  was  the  same  gospel  into  the 
faith  of  which  he  was  baptized,  when  in  early  manhood  he 
was  immersed  in  the  river,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  That  religion  had  stood 
the  test  through  all  the  buffetings  and  persecutions,  through 
the  hard  work  of  life,  and  it  did  not  forsake  him  in  the  tre 
mendous  close.  There  have  been  thousands  of  death-beds 
as  calm  and  beautiful  as  this,  but  they  were  not  so  conspi  c- 
uous.  This  electrifies  Christendom.  This  encourages  the 
pain-struck  in  hospitals,  and  scattered  all  up  and  down  the 
world,  to  suffer  patiently.  The  consumptive,  the  cancered 
and  the  palsied,  and  the  fevered  and  the  dying  of  all  na 
tions  lift  their  heads  from  their  hot  pillows  and  bless  this 
heroic,  this  triumphant,  this  illustrious  sufferer.  The  re 
ligion  that  upheld  him  under  surgeon's  knife,  and  amid 
the  appalling  days  and  nights  at  Long  Branch  and  at  Wash- 


44  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD; 

ington,  is  a  good  religion  to  have.  Show  us  in  all  the  ages 
among  the  enemies  of  Christianity  a  death -bed  that  will 
compare  with  this  radiant  sunset. 

"SHAKING    HANDS    ACHOSS    THE    PALPITATING    HEART." 

Again,  our  President's  death  will  do  more  for  the  con 
summation  of  right  feeling  between  North  and  South  than 
all  his  administration  of  four  years  could  have  accom 
plished.  This  is  not  "  shaking  hands  across  the  bloody 
chasm  "  according  to  the  rhetoric  of  campaign  documents; 
this  is  shaking  hands  across  the  palpitating  heart,  that  was 
large  enough  to  take  in  both  sections.  This  expiring  man 
took  the  hand  of  the  North  and  the  hand  of  the  South  and 
joined  them  together,  and  practically  said,  with  a  dying 
pathos  that  can  never  be  forgotten,  "  Be  brothers!  "  Where 
now  are  the  flags  at  half-mast?  At  New  Orleans  and  Bos 
ton,  Chicago  and  Charleston.  There  is  absolutely  to-day 
no  Republican  party  and  no  Democratic  party.  A  new 
party  has  swallowed  up  all — a  party  of  national  sympathy. 
The  bulletins  on  the  south  side  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line 
have  been  as  carefully  watched  as  on  the  north  side.  We 
have  been  trying  to  arbitrate  old  difficulties  and  settle  old 
grudges,  yet  the  old  quarrel  has  ever  and  anon  broken  out 
in  a  new  place,  but  this  requiem  which  shades  the  land 
forever  drowns  out  all  sectional  discords. 

After  all  that  has  been  done  and  said  during  the  last 
eleven  weeks,  the  people  of  the  South  will  be  welcome  in 
all  our  homes  as  we  shall  be  welcome  in  theirs.  He  who 
tries  hereafter  to  kindle  the  old  fires  of  hatred  will  find 
little  fuel  and  no  sulphurous  match.  Alabama  and  Massa 
chusetts!  stand  up  and  be  married.  South  Carolina  and 
New  York!  join  hands  in  betrothal.  Georgia  and  Ohio  I  I 
pronounce  you  one.  Whom  God  hath  joined  together  let 
no  man  put  asunder.  The  seal  is  set  by  the  cold  and  ema 
ciated  hand  of  our  dead  President.  No  living  man  could 


MIGHTIER  DEAD   THAN  LIVING.  45 

have  accomplished  it.  More  of  the  sectional  prejudices 
and  the  misinterpretations  and  the  bitternesses  of  old  war 
times  have  perished  in  the  last  eleven  weeks  than  in  all  the 
seventeen  years  since  the  war  ended,  and  so  the  dead  which 
Garfield  slew  at  his  death  were  more  than  they  which  he 
slew  in  his  whole  life. 

VALUABLE  LESSONS  FOB  ALL. 

Again,  President  Garfield's  sickness  and  death  have  ed 
ucated  the  world,  as  all  his  life  and  the  life  of  a  thousand 
men  beside  could  not  have  educated  it,  in  the  wonders  of 
the  human  body.  For  the  last  two  months  all  Christen 
dom  have  been  studying  anatomy  and  physiology.  Never 
since  the  world  stood  has  there  been  so  much  known  about 
respiration,  about  pulsation,  about  temperature,  about  gun 
shot  wounds,  about  febrile  rise,  about  digestion,  about  con 
valescence.  The  vast  majority  of  the  race  have  hitherto 
wandered  about  stupidly  ignorant  of  this  master-piece  of 
God,  the  human  mechanism.  The  last  eleven  weeks  have 
educated  10,000  nurses  for  the  sick.  The  invalids  of  all 
lands  for  this  experience  will  have  better  attendance,  more 
kindness,  more  opportunity  of  restoration.  Never  has 
there  been  such  examination  of  dictionaries  to  find  the 
meaning  of  a  medical  phrase.  One  new  word  of  the 
morning  bulletins  has  set  the  leaves  of  all  the  lexicons  in 
America  a-flutter. 

Since  the  time  when  David,  the  psalmist,  probably  re 
turned  from  an  Oriental  dissecting-room,  wrote  the  autop 
sy,  "  we  are  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made,"  and  Solomon, 
who  was  wise  in  physiology  as  in  everything  else,  called 
the  spinal  marrow  the  silver  chord — (or  "  ever  the  silver 
chord  be  loosed  ")  and  called  the  head  the  "golden  bowl" 
because  the  skull  is  round  like  a  bowl,  and  the  membrane 
which  contains  the  brain  as  yellow  like  gold — (or  "  the  gol 
den  bowl  be  broken") — and  called  the  veins  of  the  human 


46  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD, 

body  a  pitcher,  because  they  carry  the  crimson  liquid  from 
the  heart,  the  fountain  through  all  the  organs  of  the  body 
— ("or  the  pitcher  be  broken  at  the  fountain") — and 
called  the  lungs  a  wheel,  because  they  draw  to  itself  and 
let  go  away  like  a  well-bucket,  and  called  the  stomach  the 
cistern — (the  u  wheel  broken  at  the  cistern,") —  and  showed 
that  he  knew  what  Harvey  thought  he  was  discovering 
thousands  of  }rears  after  concerning  the  circulation  of  the 
blood,  I  say,  since  those  obscure  times  down  to  these  days, 
when  physicians  are  busy  instructing  the  people,  and  all 
medical  colleges  and  all  high  schools  are  scattering  physi 
ology  and  anatomical  information,  there  never  has  been  so 
much  wisdom  on  these  subjects  as  to-day,  and  the  most  po 
tent  of  all  the  doctors  has  been  the  sick  and  dying  bed  of 
your  President.  He  had  often  spoken  and  lectured  on 
these  subjects  in  college  and  on  the  lyceum  platform,  and 
was  a  scientist  in  all  these  fields.  But  in  the  last  eleven 
weeks  he  has  overthrown  more  ignorance  on  these  import 
ant  subjects  than  during  all  his  half  century  of  existence. 
"  And  so  the  dead  which  he  slew  in  his  death  were  more 
than  they  which  he  slew  in  his  life." 

THE   LIMITS   OF    SCIENCE    AND    SYMPATHY. 

Again,  these  last  scenes  must  impress  the  world  as  no 
preachment  ever  did,  that  when  our  time  comes  to  go  the 
most  energetic  and  skillful  physician  cannot  hinder  the 
event.  •  Was  there  ever  so  much  done  to  save  a  man's  life 
as  the  life  of  President  Garfield  ?  Is  the  season  too  hot  ? 
There  is  manufactured  for  his  sick  room  in  August  an  Oc 
tober  day.  Is  he  to  be  transported  to  the  seaside  ?  All  the 
wheels  and  all  the  steam  whistles,  and  all  the  voices  along 
the  line  of  progress  are  hushed  for  200  miles,  and  a  new 
section  of  railroad  is  built  to  let  him  pass  over.  Added  to 
the  medical  skill  of  the  capital  are  the  skill  of  Philadelphia 
and  New  York. 


MIGHTIER  DEAD  THAN  LIVING.  47 

All  the  medical  ingenuity  of  the  last  300  years  flashes  its 
electric  light  upon  the  wound.  Paris  and  London  and 
Edinburgh  applaud  the  treatment.  He  had  all  the  courage 
that  comes  from  the  hand  of  a  wife  who  was  sure  he  would 
get  well.  He  had  physicians  who  did  not  stand  with  cold, 
scientific  calculation,  studying  the  case;  but  splendid  men, 
whose  hearts  grew  strong  or  faint  as  the  patient's  pulse  was 
strong  or  faint,  and  they  were  as  great  nurses  as  they  were 
great  surgeons.  But  the  docfors  could  not  keep  him. 
His  wife  could  not  keep  him.  All  the  arms  of  his  chil 
dren  hung  around  his  neck  could  not  keep  him.  His  great 
spirit  pushes  them  all  back  from  the  gates  of  life  and  soars 
away  into  the  infinities.  My  Lord  and  my  God  .'solemnize 
us  with  this  consideration. 

My  hearer,  if  you  and  I  were  sick,  I  am  sure  we  would 
have  good  medical  attendance  and  good  nursing,  plenty  of 
watchers  and  plenty  of  attendants.  The  world  is  naturally 
very  kind  to  the  sick.  We  who  have  good  houses  would 
have  sympathetic,  though  trembling,  hands  to  hold  ours 
in  the  last  exigency.  We  all  have  those  who  love  us  as  we 
love  them,  and  when  the  time  fixed  by  the  merciful  God 
arrives,  we  must  be  off. 

There  is  no  need  of  our  getting  nervous  about  it,  or  fret 
ting  about  it.  All  we  have  to  do  is  to  keep  our  hearts  right 
with  God  and  do  our  best,  and  then  be  as  unfl uttered  as  was 
our  dying  President.  If  after  the  mightiest  surgery  of 
America  and  the  world,  he  had  to  surrender  on  Monday 
night  at  the  stroke  of  the  Death  Angel,  surely  we  cannot  re 
sist  it.  In  the  emphasizing  of  all  these  great  truths,  James 
A.  Garfield  is  mightier  lying  on  his  catafalque  at  Cleveland 
than  in  the  White  House,  receiving  the  honors  of  foreign 
embassage. 

Who  knows  but  that  this  death  will  save  millions  of 
people  for  this  world  and  the  next?  Fifty  millions  of  peo 
ple — nay,  North  and  South,  America  and  Europe  and  parts 


48  .JAMES  A.   GARFIELD; 

of  Asia— called  to  thoughts  of  mortality  and  the  great  fu 
ture!  Who  knows  but  it  may  awaken  whole  nations  from 
the  death  of  sin  to  the  life  of  the  gospel?  When,  last  week, 
I  saw  one  line  of  mourning  from  Detroit,  Mich.,  to  Brook 
lyn,  I  wondered  if  God  would  not  use  this  great  grief  for 
the  purification  of  the  Nation.  "  O,  Lord,  revive  Thy  work 
in  the  midst  of  the  Nation."  Enough  of  the  Sabbath- 
breakings  and  the  impurity  and  the  blasphemy  and  the  offi 
cial  corruption  in  this  country!  By  the  scowl  of  this  ter 
rific  event  let  these  dogs  of  hell  be  driven  back  to  their 
fiery  kennels;  against  all  these  evils  this  Presidential  giant 
is  mightier  dead  than  when  alive. 

POOR    MRS.    GARFIELD. 

But,  while  the  Nation  has  this  comfort,  there  are  three 
words  that  will  leap  to  our  lips,  and  they  have  been  reiter 
ated  often er  than  any  other  words  for  the  past  few  days: 
poor  Mrs.  Garfield!  More  pathetic  words  I  never  read  than 
those  in  the  Friday  newspapers  which  said  that,«with  two 
of  her  children,  she  had  gone  over  to  the  White  House  to 
get  the  property  of  her  family,  and  have  it  sent  to  her  home 
in  Ohio.  Gan  you  imagine  anything  more  full  of  torture 
than  the  walk  through  the  rooms  filled  with  associations  of 
her  husband's  kindnesses,  of  her  husband's  anxieties,  and  of 
her  husband's  long-continued  physical  anguish?  She  had, 
with  her  womanly  arms,  fought  by  his  side  all  the  way  up 
the  steep  of  life.  She  had  helped  him  in  their  economies 
when  they  were  very  poor;  with  her  own  needle  clothing 
their  family,  with  her  own  hands  making  him  bread.  When 
the  world  frowned  upon  him  in  the  days  of  scandalous 
assault  she  never  forsook  his  side.  They  had  together  won 
the  battle,  and  had  seated  themselves  at  the  very  top  to 
enjoy  the  victory.  Then  the  blow  came.  What  a  reversal 
of  fortune!  From  what  midnoon  to  what  midnight!  It  is 
said  that  this  will  kill  her.  I  do  not  believe  it.  The  God 


MIGHTIER  DEAD   THAN  LIVING.  49 

who  lias  helped  her  thus  far  will  help  her  all  the  way 
through.  When  the  broken  circle  gathers  in  the  future 
days  at  the  old  home  at  Mentor,  the  mighty  God  who  pro 
tected  James  A.  Garfield  at  Chickamauga,  and  in  the  fiery 
hell  of  many  battles,  will  protect  his  wife,  his  children,  and 
his  old  mother. 

Upon  all  the  seven  broken  hearts  let  the  grace  descend  ! 
What  consolations  they  have  !  It  was  a  great  thing  to 
have  had  such  a  son  !  It  was  a  great  thing  to  have  been 
the  wife  of  such  a  man  !  It  was  a  great  thing  to  have  been 
the  children  of  such  a  father  !  While  theirs  and  ours  is 
the  grief,  I  am  glad  on  his  account  that  he  has  gone.  He 
had  suffered  enough.  Enough  the  cuts  of  the  lancets  and 
the  thrusts  of  the  catheter,  and  the  pangs  of  head  and  side 
and  feet  and  back  !  Ascend,  O  disenthralled  spirit,  and 
take  thy  place  with  those  who  "came  out  of  great  tribula 
tion,  and  had  their  robes  made  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb!" 

ELOQUENT  PERORATION. 

This  Samson  of  intellectual  strength,  this  giant  of  moral 
power,  had — like  the  one  in  the  text — in  other  days  slain 
the  lion  of  wrathful  passion,  and  had  carried  the  gates  of 
wrong  from  the  rusted  hinges.  But  the  peroration  of  his 
life  is  stronger  than  any  passage  which  went  before.  The 
dead  which  this  giant  slew  in  his  death  were  more  than 
those  whom  he  slew  in  his  life.  May  we  all  learn  the  prac 
tical  lessons  with  which  our  subject  is  filled  !  Oh,  behold 
the  contrast  between  Friday,  the  4th  of  March,  1881,  and 
Friday,  the  23d  of  September,  1881.  On  the  former  day 
Washington  was  ablaze  with  banners.  Each  State  in  the 
Union  had  its  triumphal  arch.  Great  men  of  this  country 
and  vast  populations  filled  the  streets;  procession  such  as 
had  never  moved  from  the  White  House  to  the  Capitol; 
military  display  that  would  have  confounded  hostile  na- 
4 


60  JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 

tions;  the  citj  shaken  with  cannonading  by  day,  and  the 
night  on  fire  with  pyrotechnics  1  Thousands  of  all  politi 
cal  parties  who  congratulated  the  President,  pronounced 
that  4th  of  March  the  brighest  day  that  had  ever  shone  on 
American  institutions.  That  night,  or  soon  after,  in  some 
room  of  the  Presidential  Mansion,  I  warrant  you  there 
assembled,  husband  and  wife  and  five  children  and  the 
aged  mother,  taking  a  long  breath  after  the  excitement  of 
the  inauguration.  But,  behold,  Friday,  Sept.  23d,  the  dead 
President  in  the  rotunda,  his  bereaved  wife  at  a  friend's 
house,  a  dangerously  sick  child  400  miles  away  at  Wil- 
liamstown,  Mass.;  military  on  guard  around  the  casket; 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  gazing  on  the  face  so 
emaciated  that  none  would  know  it;  the  poor,  black  woman 
falling  on  her  knees  beside  the  coffin,  expressing  the  an 
guish  of  speechless  multitudes  when  she  said:  "Oh,  dear! 
how  he  must  have  suffered!"  Friday,  4th  of  March,  1881! 
Friday,  Sept.  23, 1881 !  Of  all  the  words  of  comfort  I  have 
uttered  to-day  I  have  this  lesson,  which  seems  to  sound  out 
from  the  tramp  of  pall-bearers  and  from  the  rolling  of  the 
draped  rail  train  moving  westward,  and  from  the  open 
grave  now  waiting  to  receive  our  dead  President:  "  Put  not 
your  trust  in  princes,  nor  in  the  sons  of  men,  in  whom 
there  is  no  help.  His  breath  goeth  forth,  he  returneth  to 
this  earth;  in  that  very  day  his  thoughts  perish."  Fare 
thee  well,  departed  chieftain ! 


GARFIELD'S  GREATNESS  OF  NATURE. 

BY  PRESIDENT  HINSDALE,  OF  HIRAM  COLLEGE,  OHIO. 


Delivered  before  the  soldier-  of  Garfield's  regiment  (42nd  Ohio),  students  of  Hiram 
College,  and  of  Williams  College,  and  Garfield's  neighborh.  od  friends,  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  Chmv  h  Cleveland,  Sept,  25th.  1881.  ;  ,  '• 

AN  UNPARALELLED-  HISTORY. 

BRETHREN  in  the  Hiram  Fellowship:  There  was  never 
but  one  man  who  could  fitly  preside  at  a  Hiram  re-union; 
and  he  was  the  man  whom  we  have  gathered,  not  to  honor, 
but  to  remember.  With  what  felicity  did  he  always  open 
the  service ;  with  what  aptness  did  he  guide  all  our  thoughts 
and  feelings  in  right  courses?  Can  you  think  of  Garfield 
as  presiding  at  his  own  obsequies,  not  knowing  that  they 
are  his  own?  If  you  can,  please  to  consider  that  I  have  re 
signed  the  chair,  and  that  he  is  present  and  presiding  in 
our  midst. 

James  Abram  Garfield:  born  November  19,  1831;  a  stu 
dent  at  Hiram  in  August,  1851,  at  Williamstown  in  1854; 
president  of  the  Eclectic  Institute  in  1857;  an  Ohio  sena 
tor  in  1859;  a  soldier  in  1861;  elected  a  representative  in 
Congress  in  1862,  and  re-elected  each  two  years  succeeding 
until  1878;  chosen  United  States  Senator  in  January,  1880; 
nominated  by  the  Republican  party  for  the  Presidency  in 
June  of  the  same  year;  elected  to  that  high  office  in  No. 

(51) 


52  GARFIELD' S  GREATNESS  OF  NATURE. 

vember  following;  inaugurated  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
great  Republic  March  4,  1881;  shot  by  the  assassin  July  2; 
died  at  Long  Branch  September  19 — those  facts  and  date* 
are  the  salient  points  of  a  career  that,  in  all  the  points  of 
high  character,  noble  achievement,  lofty  promises  not  yet 
fulfilled,  beautiful  romance,  generous  enthusiasm,  pure  am 
bition,  and  a  final  euthanasy,  have  no  parallel  in  the  histo 
ry  of  the  world. 

"Were  I  limited  to  one  phrase  in  which  to  describe  James 
A.  Garfield,  I  should  say:  Greatness  of  nature.  With 
what  wealth  of  noble  faculties  was  he  endowed!  Close  obser 
vation,  high  analytical  and  generalizing  ability,  solidity  of 
judgment,  depth  and  purity  of  feeling,  strength  of  will, 
power  of  rhetorical  exposition,  artistic  sense,  poetic  senti 
ment,  reverence  of  spirit,  and  noble  courage — these  are  only 
a  few  of  his  great  gifts.  "Were  I  allowed  a  second  phrase 
of  description,  I  should  add:  Richness  of  culture,  fullness 
of  knowledge,  breadth  of  attainment,  discipline  of  all  the 
great  faculties  of  the  mind,  ripeness  of  experience — are 
phrases  that  describe  but  imperfectly  what  study  and  the 
friction  of  life  had  done  for  him.  Greatness  of  nature  and 
richness  of  culture,  together  fitly  describe  his  life  and 
character.  And  this  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  his  own 
maxim:  "Every  character  is  the  joint  product  of  nature 
and  nurture." 


One  of  the  most  striking  facts  pertaining  to  this  noble 
product  of  nature  and  nurture  was  his  many-sidedness. 
Tennyson  said  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington : 

He  stood  four-square  to  every  wind  that  blew." 

This  is  a  striking  figure,  and  it  admirably  expresses  the 
poet's  thought.  But  General  Garfield  had  many  more  sides 
than  four.  You  can  hardly  take  up  a  point  of  observation 


GARFIELD'S  GREATNESS  OF  NATURE.  53 

where  you  will  not  discover  something  in  him  both  in. 
teresting  and  striking.  He  seemed  to  face  in  all  directions. 
He  faced  to  law  and  policy,  to  science  and  literature,  to 
firms  and  the  camp,  to  religion  and  the  Christian  ministry, 
to  the  Senate  and  the  forum,  to  the  farm  and  the  arts,  to 
the  social  circle  and  domestic  life,  and  in  as  many  more 
directions  as  the  diamond  from  its  polished  facets  flashes 
its  lustrous  beauty. 

But,  brethren  in  the  Hiram  Fellowship,  we  are  not  come 
together  to  remember  the  late  President'  in  all  the  phases 
of  his  great  life  and  character.  To-day  we  leave  the  soldier 
to  soldiers,  the  lawyer  to  lawyers,  the  statesman  to  states 
men.  Mr.  Garfieid  faced  towards  Hiram,  and  to  us  this 
will  always  be  the  most  engaging  side  of  his  life.  Here  we 
recall  the  sound  scholar,  the  great  teacher,  the  discreet  ad 
ministrator,  wise  counsellor,  sure  guide,  faithful  friend,  and 
noble  man.  Under  circumstances  that  make  the  tworld  weepi 
are  we  gathered  to  hold  memorial  service  for  him  whose 
fourfold  connection  with  our  college,  as  pupil,  teacher,  pres 
ident  and  trustee,  has  made  the  humble  name  of  Hiram 
known  all  over  the  land. 

Rapid  as  was  General  Garfield's  march  upon  the  nation 
still  the  public  as  a  whole  was  slow  in  finding  him  out. 
They  never  did  fully  find  him  out  until  his  life  was  ebbing 
away  to  the  music  made  by  the  Atlantic  sobs.  Nay,  they 
have  not  fully  done  so  yet.  But  I  may  fairly  claim  that 
the  students  of  Hiram  had  discovered  his  greatness  long 
before  the  year  1860.  They  were,  in  fact,  the  original  dis- 
<ioverers  of  James  A.  Garfield.  Years  ago  a  Hiram  poet 
sang  at  one  of  our  reunions  : 

"  Ri.^ht  proud  are  we  the  world  should  know 
As  hero  him  we  long  ago 
Found  truest  helper,  friend," 


54  GARFIELD'S  GREATNESS  OF  NATURE. 


YOUNG    GARFIELD    AT    HIRAM. 

Young  Mr.  Garfield  first  came  to  Hiram  in  August,  1851. 
The  next  school  year  he  became  one  of  the  teachers,  and 
continued  such  until  1854,  when  he  went  to  college.  On 
his  graduation,  in  1856.  he  returned  as  teacher,  and  the 
next  year  became  the  principal.  From  this  time  to  August, 
1861,  when  he  left  his  class  room  for  the  camp,  he  was  the 
head  of  Hiram.  Within  these  years,  especially  lies  the  ser 
vice  that  we  should  remember.  I  can  only  say,  in  general, 
that  it  was  fully  marked  by  all  the  great  qualities  of  his 
later  life,  wealth  of  knowledge,  buoyancy  of  spirits,  dignity 
of  carriage,  wisdom  in  counsel,  kindness  and  justice,  faith 
fulness  of  friendship.  I  sketch  the  outline  and  leave  it  for 
you  to  fill  in  the  picture. 

Of  my  own  obligations  to  him,  first  as  a  pupil,  next  as  a 
co-teacher,  then  aa  friend — nay  as  a  brother,  I  cannot 
trust  myself  to  speak.  Only  he  who  chanted  the  elegy 
over  the  fallen  Jonathan  could  do  justice  to  the  theme: 
"  How  are  the  mighty  fallen  in  the  midst  of  the  battle. 
O,  Jonathan,  thou  wert  slain  in  thine  high  places.  I  am 
distressed  for  thee,  my  brother  Jonathan;  very  pleasant 
hast  thou  been  to  me;  thy  love  to  me  was  wonderful,  pass 
ing  the  love  of  women." 

GARFIELD'S  SIMPLICITY. 

One  of  the  very  grandest  phases  of  this  grand  man  was 
his  great  simplicity  of  character.  This  he  retained  unsul 
lied  to  the  end.  Nothing  could  corrode  or  taint  his  original 
honest  fiber.  Principalities  and  powers,  dynasties  and  do 
minion,  were  nothing  to  him  in  comparison  with  the  fellow 
ship  of  his  early  friends.  His  love  for  the  old  school  con 
tinued  to  the  very  end,  He  last  visited  Hiram  not  long 
before  his  final  departure  for  Washington.  He  made  one 
of  his  beautiful  speeches,  in  the  chapel.  He  spoke  of  the 


GARFIELD'S  GREATNESS  OF  NATURE.  55 

memories  that  lay  under  the  snow;  said  never  since  he 
went  to  the  army  had  he  left  Hiram  with  similar  feelings; 
said  he  was  about  to  sail  out  into  unknown  seas,  but  that  he 
felt  that,  on  the  Hiram  promontory,  he  had  built  a  cairn 
from  which  he  could  draw  supplies  throughout  the  voyage. 
He  called  for  the  singing  of  "Ho!  Keapers  of  Life's  Har 
vest,"  joined  heartily  in  the  song,  shook  hands  with  all 
present,  and  was  driven  away  homeward. 

HIS    LAST   LETTER   TO    PRESIDENT   HINSDALE. 

The  last  autograph  letter  that  he  wrote  me  came  in  the 
midst  of  the  great  political  tempest,  and  was  in  these  words. 

"  DEAR  BURKE:  I  throw  you  a  line  across  the  storm  to  let  you  know 
fckat  I  think,  when  I  have  a  moment  between  breaths,  of  the  dear  old 
quiet  and  peace  of  Hiram  and  Mentor.  Let  me  hear  from  you.  Inclose 
your  letter  in  an  envelope  to  Crete.  As  ever  yours, 

J.  A.  GARFIELD." 

How  he  longed  for  this  "  dear  old  quiet  and  peace  "  in 
all  storms,  was  well  known  to  all  his  closer  friends,  and  how 
he  sighed  for  it  as  he  lay  upon  his  bed  of  pain  in  the  heart 
of  Washington  and  by  the  shore  of  the  far-resounding  sea, 
the  reporters  have  told  the  world. 

THE    SOBLE    WIFE. 

There  is  one  person  who  must  not  be  forgotten  here. 
And  who  is  this  ?  You  all  anticipate  my  answer.  She  i& 
a  Hiram  student,  one  of  our  Fellowship,  the  lamented  Pres 
ident's  noble  wife.  Hiram  claims  two  thousand 'daughters, 
many  of  whom  have  done  virtuously,  but  Lucretia  excels 
them  all.  Wheresoever  his  history  shall  be  read  in  the 
whole  world,  there  shall  also  be  told  what  this  woman  has 
done  for  a  memorial  for  her.  In  behalf  of  all  who  are  in 
the  Hiram  Fellowship,  I  wish  to  thank  Mrs.  Garfield  for  her 
heroic  devotion,  unfaltering  courage  and  immortal  hope  in 
the  sick  chamber  of  her  husband.  It  was  not  for  yourself 


56  GARFIELD' S  GREATNESS  OF  NATURE. 

and  your  children  alone  that  you  wrought,  you  wrought  for 
the  Nation,  for  the  world,  and  for  us.  We  recognize,  but 
can  never  pay  our  deep  debt  of  obligation. 

But  it  is  all  over.  Black  care,  that  perched  like  the  night 
raven  in  our  homes  the  evening  of  July  2,  sits  in  them  still. 
In  1865  I  stood  with  General  Garfield  in  the  pouring  rain 
on  Dr.  Robison's  door  steps,  on  Superior  street,  April  28, 
when  the  hearse  of  President  Lincoln  passed  by  to  the  pub 
lic  square.  Yesterday  I  passed  the  same  place  as  I  fol 
lowed  Garfield's  hearse.  To-day  his  remains  lie  where  Lin 
coln's  lay.  And  it  is  left  for  us,  and  it  is  left  for  all  his 
friends,  to  adjust  ourselves  to  a  world  that  contains  no  liv 
ing  Garfield.  He  has  left  us  his  life  and  his  spirit.  Storm, 
and  war,  and  strife  are  all  over,  and  he  has  entered  upon  a 
quiet  and  a  peace  that  neither  Hiram  nor  Mentor  knew. 
He  is  thrice  happy  and  doubly  immortal;  immortal  in  life 
and  immortal  in  death. 

A  MYSTERY. 

Finally,  let  me  ask,  why  was  all  this  permitted?  Why 
was  the  assassin  allowed  to  strike  him  down?  Why  were 
not  the  prayers  of  the  people  granted?  Why  did  the  night- 
raven  never  lift  his  wings  and  fly  away?  Why  was  the 
Most  High  deaf,  and  why  did  the  heavens  give  no  sign? 
What  a  strange  providence!  How  can  it  fit  into  any  plan 
of  Divine  wisdom  and  love!  Thus  far  I  have  scarcely  tried 
to  answer  these  questions,  though  they  have  pressed  upon 
me  many  an  hour.  It  is  a  great  test  of  faith  in  God.  But 
Garfield  believed  in  God.  He  thought  that  an  unceasing 
purpose  runs  through  the  ages  and  comprehends  the  lives 
of  men;  and  I  think  so,  too.  Still,  hitherto  I  have  been 
able  to  do  little  more  than  say,  "Lord,  I  believe;  help 
Thou  mine  unbelief!  "  For  myself,  I  must  leave  the  prob 
lem  to  the  future.  History  will  no  doubt  discover  and  dis 
close  what  passes  our  power  to  comprehend. 


GARFIELD'S  GREATNESS  OF  NATURE:  57 

I  have  dwelt  upon  the  darker  side  of  the  great  tragedy. 
True,  there  are  great  elements  of  good  in  the  story.  These 
I  hope  will  be  duly  emphasized,  for  we  must  not  dwell  too 
much  upon  the  cypress.  In  Garfield's  young  days  at  Hiram, 
when  he  was  full  of  bounding  life,  this  saying  of  Emerson's 
was  a  great  favorite  with  him  :  "  To-day  is  asking  in  dis 
guise.  Strip  off  his  robes  and  enjoy  him  while  he  is  here." 
And  I  think  I  hear  him  who  presides  over  us,  in  spirit,  say: 
<4Be  not  so  carried  away  with  grief,  so  paralyzed  with  sor 
row,  so  blind  with  weeping  that  you  cannot  discover  the 
good  that  is  in  it  all."  Still  for  one  I  must  declare  : 

*  I  falter  -where  I  firmly  trod, 

And  falling  with  my  weight  of  cares 
Upon  the  great  world's  altar — stairs, 
That  slope  thro'  darkness  up  to  God, 

*  I  stretch  lame  hands  of  faith,  and  grope 
And  gather  dust  and  chaff,  and  call 
To  what  I  feel  is  Lord  of  all, 
And  faintly  trust  the  larger  hope." 


GARFIELD'S  BEAUTIFUL  LIFE.  . 

By  HON.  J.  H.  RHODES— His  Schoolmate,  of  Cleveland. 

Delivered  at  the  Hiram  Memorial  Service,  Sept  25, 1881. 
GARFIELD   AT   HIRAM. 

To  THOUSANDS  of  "men  and  women  these  words  bring 
swift  and  happy  visions  of  the  golden  age,  the  world  over, 
when  memory  is  not  busy  with  the  dead  past,  but  -when 
life  is  eager,  joyous,  standing  on  tip-toe  to  catch  each  new 
bright  morning.  Then  surely  it  was  true,  as  he  often  said, 
"  Each  day  .is  a  king  in  disguise."  • 

It  always  seems  to  me  now,  that  from  boyhood  he  was  al 
most  conscious  of  his  high  destiny  in  life.  He  was  born 
to  lead  and  command.  He  captured  all  hearts  as  naturally 
as  he  breathed.  He  could  not  help  winning  them  if  he 
would. 

It  is  not  now  the  time  for  critical  analysis  or  historic 
preciseness.  We  see  him  only  through  the  mist  of  tears. 
"We  cry  out  in  our  despair,  like  infants  in  the  night  crying 
for  the  light,  but  generations  hence  his  memory  and  his 
life,  hallowed  by  the  lapse  of  years,  and  looked  at  through 
a  long  line  of  succeeding  events,  like  some  grand  moun 
tain  peak,  viewed  from  afar,  will  not  be  less  grand,  will 
rise  into  the  heavens  with  equal  glory  as  now. 

To  many  who  are  here  to-day,  visions  come  again  of  Gar- 

(58) 


GARFIELD'S  BEAUTIFUL  LIFE.  59 

Held  in  the  class-room  or  the  chapel  at  Hiram.  They  see  a 
fair-faced,  blue-eyed  young  man  in  the  robust  vigor  of  early 
manhood,  overflowing  with  animal  spirits  and  breezy, 
cheerful  good  nature,  standing  before  a  class,  and  irradiat 
ing  the  room  with  the  grand  enthusiasms  for  knowledge 
and  ideas  which  made  each  pupil  feel  as  if  he  were  in  an 
atmosphere  highly  electrified,  out  of  which  he  passed,  feel 
ing  that  life  had  new  meanings  to  him,  and  longing  for  the 
return  of  the  next  lesson.  The  crayon  often  became  a 
magic  wand  with  which  new  worlds  were  disclosed  to  the 
young  explorer  in  search  of  new  continents. 

Observe  all  things,  and  question  all  men,  were  maxims 
he  daily  illustrated.  No  man  was  so  humble,  he  often  re 
marked,  but  something  new  can  be  learned  by  talking  with 
him.  With  all  men  he  was,  therefore,  social.  If  he  did 
not  learn  anything  from  another,  young  Garfield  had  al 
ready  learned  that  ideas  can  only  be  clearly  held  when  they 
can  be  clearly  clothed  in  words,  and,  as  long  as  he  could 
find  a  good  listener,  he  delighted  to  pour  forth  his  own 
thoughts  in  words,  thus  crystalizing  ideas  and  opinions 
already  formed.  Many  a  man  has  wondered  at  the  wealth 
of  conversation  with  which  he  was  flooded.  Many  a  small 
audience  thought  it  strange  he  should  speak  as  abundantly 
and  as  eloquently  to  them  as  if  there  were  thousands  to  be 
moved.  All  men  were  foils  for  his  own  swift  blades,  and 
so  he  grew  daily  in  strength  and  breadth. 

He  died  young,  but  he  was  born  at  the  right  time.  His 
young  manhood  began  with  the  great  stir  in  modern 
thought  which  had  already  revolutionized  the  world.  The 
age  of  invention  and  discovery  had  just  begun  to  usher 
into  our  modern  life  the  triumphs  of  electricity  and  steam. 
The  ferment  of  scientific  research  had  opened  up  a  thou 
sand  new  fields  of  inquiry.  The  conflict  between  old  de 
cays  and  new  creations  in  the  world  of  politics  was  at  hand. 
Literature  had  just  had  a  new  birth,  and  the  modern  period 


60  GARFIELD'S  BEAUTIFUL  LIFE. 

of  books  and  newspapers  had  been  inaugurated.  I  can  re 
member  how,  in  1S55,  1S5G,  1857, 1858,  1859  and  1860,  the 
very  air  seemed  surcharged  with  the  new  life  that  already 
threatened  storms  and  hurricanes.  I  never  heard  him  wish 
he  had  been  born  in  another  age.  He  did  not  sigh  that  his 
lot  had  nor  been  cast  amid  the  stirring  scenes  of  ancient 
Rome  or  modern  Europe.  He  was  born  in  America  and 
for  America,  and  he  lived  long  enough  to  see  the  dawn  of 
the  modern  life  and  thought,  full-orbed  and  high,  advanced 
in  the  day.  He  went  away  from  Hiram  at  twenty-four  to 
Williamstown,  to  return  in  the  fall  of  1856,  with  the  bap 
tism  of  fire  from  that  new  heaven  on  his  heart  and  head. 
For  two  years  after  his  graduation  at  Williams  we 
roomed  together  at  Hiram.  The  old  office  in  the  orchard  is 
more  hallowed  to  me  by  those  two  years  of  companionship 
than  any  temple  made  by  human  hands.  It  was  both  an 
education  and  an  inspiration  to  hear  him  at  this  period. 

PLEASING   INCIDENTS. 

It  was  after  his  return  from  Williams  College  that  he 
began  to  preach.  Preaching  was  a  vent  for  the  overflow  of 
his  energies  and  activity.  In  preaching  he  had  a  range  of 
thought  that  gave  more  scope  than  the  school  room.  The 
effect  of  two  years  at  the  feet  of  that  great  teacher,  Mark 
Hopkins,  was  very  marked.  His  thoughts  ranged  through 
wider  circles,  whilst  the  distinctive  dogmas  of  the  church 
at  Williamstown  did  not  seem  to  have  attached  themselves 
strongly  ;  the  philosophic  and  metaphysical  methods  of 
President  Hopkins  became  a  part  of  his  own  methods. 
The  result  of  this  was  that  his  preaching  had  a  new  charm 
for  the  people  who  heard  him. 

It  was  during  the  years  that  followed  his  return  from 
Williamstown  that  he  found  so  much  inspiration  and 
strength  from  that  remarkable  woman,  Almeda  A.  Booth, 
whose  intellectual  grasp  and  range  of  thought  were  only 


GARFIELD'S  BEAUTIFUL  LIFE.  61 

second  in  Hiram  to  his  own.  He  owed  much  to  her,  and 
he  has  made  public  acknowledgment  in  a  beautiful  tribute 
to  that  woman,  whom  he  compared  to  Margaret  Fuller. 

Whilst  teaching  at  Hiram  and  preaching  in  various  places 
in  Northern  Ohio,  his  mind  had  turned  to  the  law  as  a  life 
profession,  and  among  the  legacies  I  have  of  this  period  are 
synopses  made  by  us  of  the  first  two  volumes  of  Bouvier's 
Institutes.  The  law,  in  its  great  principles,  its  broad  gen 
eralizations,  its  sacred  regard  for  life  and  property,  its  con 
servative  influence  and  power  in  maintaining  order  and 
peace  in  society,  had  a  great  charm  to  his  mind,  and  I  dis 
tinctly  remember  that  he  would  synopsize  the  institutes  so 
thoroughly  as  to  cover  every  doctrine  laid  down.  In  sub 
sequent  years  he  achieved  distinction  for  his  success  in  the 
law.  But  politics,  in  the  higher  and  almost  forgotten  mean 
ing  of  the  word,  had  become  a  subject  of  great  interest  to 
him. 

The  great  struggle  in  the  land  had  already  begun,  which 
ended  in  the  downfall  of  American  slavery.  He  was 
intensely  absorbed  in  this  great  controversy,  and  soon 
entered  as  State  Senator,  upon  that  public  career  with  which 
the  world  is  so  familiar.  Into  this  he  poured  his  energies, 
as  he  had  formerly  into  teaching  and  preaching. 

Here,  too,  in  Hiram  was  continued  that  devotion  to  the 
little  woman  whose  name  is  revered  in  every  home  in  the 
civilized  world.  It  began  a  few  years  earlier  at  Chester. 
Writing  to  me  in  1871,  in  the  midst  of  his  public  life,  and 
nearly  thirteen  years  after  his  marriage,  he  said: 

"  There  is  not  a  day  when  I  do  not  certainly  fear  such 
completeness  will  not  be  allowed  to  last  long  on  this  earth." 
"Verily,  she  was  the  rainbow  on  his  storm  of  life,  the  anchor 
on  its  sea." 

His  mind  was  imaginative,  and  his  temper  poetical.  The 
freih  beauties  of  "In  Memoriam"  were  his  delight,  and 


62  GARFIELVS  BEAUTIFUL  LIFE. 

thousands  of  times  did  I  hear  him  recite,  in  those  early  days1 
the  passage  beginning:  **  The  tide  flows  down,  the  wave  again 
is  vocal  in  its  wooded  walls;  my  deeper  sorrow  also  falls, 
and  I  can  speak  a  little  there." 

The  Cuyahoga,  above  the  rapids  at  Hiram,  will  forever 
be  associated  with  him,  where  once  we  stopped  our  horse 
and  carriage  on  the  old  bridge,  and  looked  up  the  stream 
and  saw  from  the  tall  trees  on  either  side  what  Tennyson 
meant  by  "  wooded  walls." 

I  must  be  pardoned  for  not  dwelling  further,  as  there^are 
many  you  wish  to  hear.  It  is  hard  to  find  any  reconcilia 
tion  to  the  fact  that  men  say  he  is  dead,  and  that  his  bodily 
form  will  no  more  be  visible  on  earth.  It  may  be  that  his 
outward  frame  may  be  resolved  again  to  dust,  and  become, 
in  the  long  processes  of  nature,  flowers  and  fruit,  clouds  or 
frost,  but  I  never  can  conceive  of  him  as  dead.  I  do  not 
belive  he  is  dead.  Death  has  no  definition  or  limitations 
which  can  include  so  great  a  soul.  Immortality  was  no 
myth  with  him.  His  voice  is  still  heard. 


THE  NATION'S  FRIEND. 


BY  HENRY  WATTKRSON  (Editor  Louisville  Courier- Journal). 

Delivered  In  Jefferson ville,  Ind.,  Sept  26, 188L 
HEART    TO    HEART. 

TO-DAY,  for  the  first  time  in  fifty,  aye,  in  sixty  years,  the 
people  of  the  United  States  are  one  with  one  'another,  and 
stand  hand  in  hand,  and  heart  to  heart,  by  the  open  grave 
of  their  murdered  President.  This  vast  assemblage,  these 
paraphernalia  of  public  lamentation,  these  muffled  drums 
and  mournful  cadences  of  dead  marches — your  own  sad 
faces  and  tearful  eyes — are  not  the  offerings  of  a  locality, 
nor  the  offsprings  of  party  feeling.  They  are  universal. 
Everywhere  throughout  our  dear  land — and  not  alone  where 
men  are  wont  to  congregate — everywhere — and  not  any 
where  broken  by  geographic  stops  or  sectional  lines — every 
where,  in  the  market  places  and  the  churches,  in  the  great 
mansions  of  the  rich  and  the  humble  cots  and  cabins  of  the 
poor,  and  on  the  rock-ribbed  ridges  where  the  sumach  and 
the  maple  twine  their  boughs  in  pious  benediction  over  the 
bended  head  of  New  England  to  the  rice-farms  and  cotton- 
fields  of  the  kneeling  South,  where  the  live-oak  stands  as  a 
guard  of  honor  and  the  magnolia  sends  its  fragrance  up  to 
God — everywhere,  and  with  all  classes,  all  sects,  all  condi 
tions,  all  ages,  but  one  sight  is  to  be  seen  this  day,  but  one 

(63) 


64  THE  NATION'S  FRIEND. 

sound  is  to  be  heard — the  solemn  march,  the  solemn  music, 
which  bears  to  their  last  earthly  home  the  mortal  remains 
of  James  A.  Garfield. 

Nor  is  this  grievous  spectacle  of  grief  the  product  of  our 
country  only,  and  confined  within  her  borders  and  to  her 
people.  The  stranger  arriving  on  our  shores  to-day  would 
not  need  to  ask,  with  Hamlet: 

"  —Who  Is  it  that  they  follow, 
And  with  such  maimed  righto?" 

Across  the  seas,  as  if  borne  by  the  magnetic  tides  that  in 
electric  currents  ebb  and  now  beneath  the  waves,  the  sorrow 
of  America  has  thrilled  the  heart  of  Europe;  nor  yet  there 
alone  among  crowned  heads,  uncertain  of  their  crowns,  and 
courts,  unknowing  when  their  turn  may  come,  since  murder 
strikes  so  close  and  indiscriminate;  but  high  among  the 
crags,  where  the  free  Switzer  sings  of  liberty,  and  in  the 
storied  groves  and  sweet  meadows  of  Old  England,  where 
bells  that  rang  for  Hampton  and  the  Iron  Duke,  for  Words 
worth,  the  gentle  poet,  and  Albert,  the  good  Prince,  are 
ringing  into  Anglo-Saxon  song  and  legend,  the  name  of 
James  A.  Garfield. 

Why,  why  is  all  this  ?  I  answer,  because  he  was  a  man, 
and  every  inch  a  man,  who  stood  as  the  representative  of 
manhood  and  the  State. 

"  What  constitutes  a  Stat^T 
Not  high-raised  battlement  nor  labored  mound, 

Thick  wall  and  moated  gate. 
•  •  *  •  •  • 

No ;  men,  high-minded  men, 
With  powers  so  far  above  dull  brutes  endued 

In  forest,  brake,  or  den, 
As  beasts  excel  cold  rocks  and  brambles  rude; 

Men  who  their  duties  know, 
But  know  their  rights,  and,  knowing,  dare  maintain." 

The  blow  that  struck  down  Garfield,  struck  at  the  State, 
and,  though  it  missed  the  State,  it  hit  the  man,  and,  through 


THE  NATION'S  FRIEND.  65 

him,  touched  the  manhood  and  the  womanhood,  yea,  and 
the  childhood,  of  our  time  ;  and  so,  we  are  come  to  do  honor 
to  his  memory,  to  take  comfort  one  from  another  in  our 
sorrow,  on  this,  as  it  were,  his  last  day  upon  earth,  our  hero 
and  our  martyr — who  went  down  because  he  was  clad  with 
our  sovereignty — our  Peasant  Chieftain — whose  glory 
America  gives  to  the  world  ! 

WATTERSON    LOVED    HIM. 

I  knew  him  well.  I  knew  him,  and  I  know  now  that  I 
loved  him.  He  was  a  man  of  an  ample  soul,  with  the 
strength  of  a  giant,  the  courage  of  a  lion,  and  the  heart  of 
a  dove.  Never  lived  a  man  who  yearned  more  for  the  ap 
proval  of  his  fellow  men,  who  felt  their  anger  more.  Never 
lived  a  man  who  struggled  harder  to  realize  Paul's  ideal, 
and  to  be  "  all  things  to  all  men."  Nor  did  ever  the  char 
acter  sketched  by  Paul  find  a  nobler  example,  for  he  waa 
"blameless,  vigilant,  sober,  of  good  behavior,  apt  to  teach, 
not  given  to  filthy  lucre."  No  one  without  the  little  fam 
ily  circle  of  relatives  and  friends  in  which  he  lived  will  ever 
know  how  a  certain  dismal,  though  in  truth  trivial,  episode 
in  his  career  cut  him  to  the  soul.  Born  a  poor  man's  son, 
to  live  and  die  a  poor  man,  with  opportunities  unbounded 
for  public  pillage — with  licensed  robbery  going  on  all 
about  him,  and  he  pinched  for  the  bare  means  to  maintain 
himself,  his  wife  and  his  little  ones,  with  decency  and  com 
fort — to  be  held  up  to  the  scorn  of  men  as  one  not  honest, 
He  is  gone  now,  and,  before  he  went,  he  had  outlived  the 
wounds  which  party  friends,  alike  with  party  foes,  had 
sought  to  put  upon  his  honor;  and  mayhap,  to-day,  some 
where  among  the  stars,  he  looks  down  upon  the  world,  and 
sees  at  last  how  false,  how  sordid,  how  selfish  and  unreal 
were  the  assaults  of  those  in  whose  way  he  stood.  It  is  a 
pleasure  to  me  to  reflect,  amid  these  gloomy  scenes,  that 
Borne  friendly  words  of  mine  gratified  him  at  a  moment 
5 


66  THE  NATION'S  FRIEND. 

when  he  suffered  most.  Not  in  the  last  campaign,  for  it 
would  have  been  a  crime  in  me  to  have  hesitated  then. 
But  away  back,  when  no  vision  of  the  Presidency  had 
crossed  the  disc  of  his  ambition,  and  when  the  crueleft 
blows  were  struck  from  behind. 

INCIDENTS. 

It  is  also  a  pleasure  to  me  to  remember  the  last  time  I 
saw  him.  It  was  an  all-night  session  of  the  House,  when, 
in  company  with  Joseph  Hawley,  of  Connecticut,  Eandall 
Gibson,  of  Louisiana,  and  Kandolph  Tucker,  of  Virginia, 
we  took  possession  of  the  committee-room  of  Proctor 
Knott,  who  joined  us  later,  and  buried  all  bickerings  and 
jars  in  happy  forgetf  illness  of  section  and  party,  and  in 
joyous  return  to  nature,  and  the  contemplation 

1-^  — Of  poesy  and  philosophy, 

Arts  which  T  love,  for  they,  ray  friend,  were  thine." 

I  do  well  remember  how  buoyant  he  was  that  night  in 
spirit  and  how  robust  in  thought;  how  full  of  suggestion, 
quick  in  repartee,  unaffected  and  genial  ever;  how  delight 
ed  to  lay  aside  the  statesman  and  the  partisan,  and  be  a  boy 
again ;  and  how  loth  he  was,  with  the  rest,  to  recross  the 
narrow  confines  which  separate  the  real  and  ideal,  and  to 
•descend  into  the  hot  abyss  below.  I  could  not  have  gone 
thence  to  blacken  that  man's  character  any  more  than  do 
another  deed  of  shame;  and,  .Republican  though  he  was, 
;and  party  chief,  he  had  no  truer  friends  than  the  brilliant 
Tirginian,  whom  he  loved  like  a  brother,  and  the  eminent 
Louisianian,  whose  counsels  he  habitually  sought. 

I  refer  to  an  incident,  unimportant  in  itself,  to  illustrate 
a  character  which  unfolded  to  the  knowledge  of  the  world 
through  affliction  and  death,  has  awakened  the  admiration 
and  love  of  mankind.  All  know  now  that  he  was  a  man  of 
spotless  integrity  ;  who  might  have  been  rich  by  a  single 


THE  NATION'S  FRIEND.  67 

deflection,  but  who  died  poor  ;  who  broadened  and  rose  in 
hight  with  each  rise  in  fortune  ;  who  was  not  less  a  scholar 
because  he  had  wanted  early  advantages  ;  and  who,  not  yet 
fifty,  leaves  as  a  priceless  heritage  to  his  countrymen  the 
example  of  how  God-given  virtues  of  the  head  and  heart 
may  be  employed  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  use  of  men 
by  one  who  makes  all  things  subordinate  to  the  develop 
ment  of  the  good  within  him.  I  do  not  mean  to  be  pane 
gyrical.  I  mean  to  be  just,  for  I  would  draw  from  this  dire 
experience  its  true  lesson,  as  that  relates  to  our  private  no 
less  than  our  public  life. 

On  all  these  points  we  think  together.  There  are  not 
two  opinions.  We  stand  upon  common  ground.  We  shall 
separate  and  go  hence,  and  each  shall  take  his  way.  Inter 
ests  shall  clash;  beliefs  shall  jar;  party-spirit  shall  lift  its 
horrid  head  and  interpose  to  chill  and  cloud  our  better  na 
tures.  That  is  but  a  condition  of  our  being.  We  are  mor 
tal  and  we  live  in  a  free  land.  Out  of  discussion  and  dis- 
sention  ends  are  shapen,  we  rough-hewing.  In  spite  of  us, 
however,  occasions  come  which  remind  us  that  we  have  a 
country  and  are  countrymen,  which  tell  us  we  are  n. 
people  bound  together  by  many  kindred  ties.  No  matter 
for  our  quarrels.  They  will  pass  away.  No  matter  for  on  r 
mistakes.  They  shall  be  mended.  But  yesterday  we  were 
at  war  one  with  the  other.  The  war  is  over.  But  yester 
day  we  were  arrayed  in  angry  party  conflict.  Behold  how 
its  passions  sleep  in  the  grave  with  Garfield. 

I  am  here  to-day  to  talk  to  you  of  him,  and  through 
him,  and  in  his  memory  and  honor,  to  talk  of  our  country. 
He  was  its  Chief  Magistrate,  our  President,  representative 
of  things  common  to  us  all,  stricken  down  in  the  fullness 
of  life  and  hope  by  wanton  and  aimless  assassination.  He 
fell  like  a  martyr;  he  suffered  like  a  hero;  he  died  like  a 

saint. 

Be  his  grave  forever  and  aye  a  trysting  place  for   the 


68  THE  NATION'S  FRIEND. 

people,  and  from  the  sods  that  burst  thereon  to  let  the 
violets  through,  spring  flowers  of  peace  and  love  for  all  the 
people.  Citizens,  the  flag  which  waves  over  us  was  his 
flag,  and  it  is  our  flag.  Soldiers,  standing  beneath  that 
flag  and  in  this  armed  fort  of  the  Republic,  I  salute 
your  flag  and  his  flag  reverently.  It  is  my  flag. 

I  thank  God,  and  I  shall  teach  my  children  to  thank  God, 
that  it  did  not  go  down  amid  the  fragments  of  a  divided 
country,  but  that  it  floats  to-day,  though  at  half-mast,  as  a 
symbol  of  union  and  liberty,  assuring  and  reassuring  us 
that,  though  the  heart  that  conceived  the  words  be  cold 
and  the  lips  that  uttered  them  be  dumb,  "  God  reigns,  and 
the  Government  at  Washington  still  lives." 


THE  CROWN  OF  MARTYRDOM. 


BY  REV.  HENBY  WARD  BKECHEB. 

Delivered  In  Peekskill,  N.Y.,  Sept  23d,  1881. 
A    WORLD    IN    MOURNING. 

THE  time  will  come  when  we  shall  have  a  right  to  expect 
from  competent  minds  a  careful  and  elaborate  biography 
of  President  Garfield.  It  ill  becomes  us  at  this  time,  when 
we  are  all  under  a  cloud,  in  deep  sympathy  with  one  an 
other,  that  I  should  take  the  time  in  flights  of  fancy  and  in 
eloquent  periods.  This  is  a  funeral  service.  We  are  gath 
ered  together  to-night  as  a  household  would  be  gathered 
where  the  father  had  been  stricken  down.  We  are  not 
^lone  in  our  sorrow.  The  world  to-day  mourns.  Not  even 
when  Lincoln  was  slain  was  there  such  universal  sympathy. 
America  was  then  disesteemed  by  many,  little  esteemed  by 
more,  loved  by  few;  but  now  no  other  nation  commands 
more  universal  respect,  and  respect  not  for  the  trappings 
of  monarchy,  not  for  governmental  display,  but  because  she 
has  become  at  once  full  of  strength,  brave,  honest,  and  no 
ble;  and  there  is  not  an  organized  Government  in  the  uni 
versal  world  that  has  not  had  its  pulse  quickened  by  the 
impending  sorrow  that  has  come  upon  us.  Crowned  heads, 
chief  Ministers,  men  of  Legislatures  everywhere,  and  Par 
liaments,  the  noblest  and  the  highest,  and  chiefly  the  noble 

(69) 


70  THE  CROWN  OF  MARTYRDOM. 

Queen  of  our  Mother  Country,  all  have  taken  home  this  sor 
row  into  their  own  household  and  made  it  their  own,  and 
to-night  we  are  one  with  the  English  speaking  world;  we 
are  one  with  the  civilized  world,  speaking  in  every  tongue, 
but  with  one  heart  and  one  thought  of  sorrow  and  sym 
pathy.  The  brave  man  has  gone. 

I  would  not  say  that  President  Garfield  was  endowed  be 
fore  all  men,  but  he  inherited  the  best  gifts  that  God  ever 
gives  to  man  when  he  is  born,  for  that  which  his  mother 
bestowed  upon  him  was  a  wholesome  constitution,  an 
equable  temperament,  and  a  noble  example  of  virtue,  in 
dustry,  and  frugality.  These  were  as  birth-gifts  given  ta 
him,  and  he  did  not  fritter  them  away.  From  his  earliest 
life  he  has  shown  the  one  trait  of  high  ideals  and  persever 
ance.  He  fought  against  poverty  and  trod  it  under  foot. 
He  rose  from  obscurity,  and  shone  as  a  star.  He  fought 
against  every  adverse  circumstance.  When  the  country 
demanded  that  none  of  her  sons  should  quail,  he  pressed 
forward,  and  his  military  history  is  marked  with  the  same 
traits  that  are  so  conspicuous  throughout  his  whole  career; 
and  now  he  that  stood  where  mighty  batteries  were  belch 
ing  forth  death  on  every  side,  and  on  the  Held  where  thou 
sands  of  bullets  were  flying,  has  fallen  beneath  the  single 
bullet  of  a  dastardly  assassin,  and  when  he  lay  upon  the 
bed  of  sickness,  the  same  traits  were  conspicuous.  He  met 
death,  and  grappled  with  it.  For  a  long  time  it  looked  as 
if  he  would  master  death.  Alas!  no.  He  was  ripe.  The 
measure  of  his  glory  had  been  filled  to  him.  There  wa& 
given  to  him,  as  to  the  illustrious  Lincoln,  the  crown  of 
martyrdom. 

There  is  not  a  man  worthy  of  the  name  that  does  not  just 
as  much  honor  the  name  of  Garh'eld  as  if  he  had  helped  to 
elect  him.  There  is  no  more  conflict,  only  the  calm  of  uni 
versal  peace.  I  look  with  admiration  on  the  man,  with 


THE  CROWN  OF  MARTYRDOM.  71 

profound  sympathy  upon  those  who  are  nearest  to  him,  but 
even  greater  admiration  upon  the  Nation  of  which  he  was 
the  illustrious  head.  He  was  taken  as  if  in  a  moment,  but 
nothing  fell  with  him — no  law,  no  practice,  no  institution, 
no  interest.  The  vast  machinery  did  not  even  stop  for  one 
single  moment;  every  wheel  in  its  place  still  went  on,  for 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  is  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  and  no  man  can  move  or  assume  an  authority 
which  restricts  or  supplants  the  universal  citizenship.  He 
has  left  his  post  to  another  and  an  honored  man,  for  whom 
let  us  invoke  all  sympathy  from  a  Divine  source  while  he 
takes  upon  himself  the  onerous  duties  that  he  must  perform. 
But  Garfield  has  ascended.  "We  may  weep  for  him.  that 
shall  never  weep  another  tear.  We  may  crown  our  rever 
ence  9  with  all  tokens  of  admiration,  but  in  the  Divine 
presence  he  now  stands.  What  would  be  to  him  the  tribute 
of  the  round  world  when  he  has  ringing  in  his  ears  the 
command  of  the  Father  to  ascend  higher  !  Sweeter  than  a 
mother's  voice,  sweeter  than  earth's  most  affectionate  tone, 
is  the  voice  of  God  in  approval. 

FOUK    CONSPICUOUS   NAMES. 

Four  names  in  the  line  of  presidents  will  stand  conspic 
uous  in  history — Washington,  Jefferson,  Lincoln,  and  Gar- 
tield.  They  have  each  been  men  of  mark  and  left  their 
impress  on  the  National  character.  In  the  few  weeks  that 
he  presided  over  the  destinies  of  this  people  he  showed  the 
possession  of  yet  deeper  power  than  any  had  anticipated; 
had  attracted  universal  attention  and  had  given  promise  of 
the  richest  harvest  in  the  after  days.  He  had  proven  him 
self  a  nobleman.  He  had  gained  a  name  for  all  time — 
as  an  officer  in  the  military  service,  as  a  member  of  the 
greatest  Legislatures,  as  President,  as  a  Christian  gentle 
man,  as  a  canonized  Martyr.  For  him  no  more  toil.  We 
go  on  still  treading  the  dusty  path.  For  us  are  sorrows  to 


72  THE  CROWN  OF  MARTYRDOM. 

be  nobly  borne;  for  us  weariness;  for  us  sickness,  infirmity, 
and,  by-and-by,  death.  These  are  no  more  for  him.  He 
walks  the  golden  street,  has  thrown  down  the  mantle  of 
doubt  and  trouble,  and  put  on  the  robes  of  grace;  he  has 
gained  the  rest  for  which  we  all  pray;  he  has  gone  to  his 
God.  1  join  with  you  as  fellow-townsmen,  for  Peekskill  is 
my  home.  I  know  that  it  is  not  the  scene  of  my  chief 
labors,  but  I  desire,  when  I  am  incapacitated  for  labor,  to 
live  here  and  then  die  among  you,  and  I  shall  deem  it  a 
privilege  here  to-night  to  open  my  heart  and  let  streams 
of  sympathy  flow  with  yours,  to  ponder  with  you  on  the 
lesson  that  we  have  that  he,  the  hero  of  great  or  less  renown, 
in  his  death  his  works  will  follow  him,  and  that  good  and 
noble  deeds  never  die. 


GARFIELD'S  GREATNESS. 


[The  following  Is  the  address  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher  on  President  Oarfield.  de- 
Jlvered  in  Plymouth  Congregational  Church,  Brooklyn,  Sept  25, 188L] 

THE    PRATER. 

In  his  opening  prayer,  Mr.  Beecher  said  :  "Thou  hast 
laid  Thy  hand  heavily  upon  this  Nation.  Thy  servant 
Thou  hast  taken  to  Thyself  in  a  way  that  fills  us  with 
shame  and  horror.  "We  have  thanksgiving  to  offer  in  our 
sorrow  that  there  is  no  more  turmoil  and  torment  for  him, 
no  more  strife  for  life  on  a  couch  of  suffering,  that  rest  and 
eternal  blessedness  are  finally  his.  We  thank  Thee  that 
there  has  been  no  shock,  no  disorganizing  of  the  affairs 
of  this  great  Nation  by  this  event.  We  believe  that 
Thou  art  anointing  this  great  people,  and  by  this  great 
sorrow  raising  us  to  a  higher  plane.  For  Thy  handmaid, 
the  mother,  for  the  wife  and  counselor,  for  the  children,  we 
pour  out  our  prayers,  and  beg  Thee  to  take  them  into  the 
arms  of  Thy  consolation.  Let  it  come  it  to  pass  that  they 
may  rest  in  the  bosom  of  love  of  this  great  people;  that 
they  may  be  cherished  and  consoled.  Bless  Thy  servant 
who  has  suddenly  been  called  to  fill  an  exalted  station. 
Spare  his  life;  defend  him  from  harm;  may  he  have  the 
wisdom  of  God  to  guide  his  footsteps.  Grant  in  this 
emergency  that  he  may  gird  himself  up,  not  in  his  own 

(73) 


74  GARFIELVS   GREATNESS. 

strength,  nor  in    the   strength    of   counselors,  but  in   the 
strength  of  the  Lord  Jesus."- 

Mr.  Beecher  read  selections  from  the  102d  and  103d 
Psalms: — "I  said,  Oh  my  God,  take  me  not  away  in  the 
midst  of  my  days."  ''As  for  rnan,  his  days  are  as  grass;  as 
a  flower  of  the  field,  so  he  flourisheth.  For  the  wind 
passeth  over  it,  and  it  is  gone;  and  the  place  thereof  shall 
know  it  no  more.  But  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from  ever 
lasting  to  everlasting  upon  them  that  fear  Him,  and  His 
righteousness  unto  children's  children ;  to  such  as  keep  His 
covenant,  and  to  those  that  remember  his  commandments 
to  do  them." 

THE    DISCOURSE SHORTNESS    OF    LIFE. 

How  short  is  human  life  at  the  longest.  We  spend  years 
in  gathering  knowledge,  and  die  just  as  we  get  ready  to 
use  it.  We  learn  how  to  live  only  to  pass  on.  Yet  we  are 
not  allowed  to  live  even  the  short  life  allotted  to  man.  A 
full  life  is  accounted  fourscore  years,  yet  the  average  one 
is  not  more  than  twoscore.  The  babe  grows  up  to  matu 
rity,  but  the  web  is  broken,  and  man  stumbles  on  the 
threshold  of  his  usefulness.  Moralists  and  poets  have  filled 
the  world  with  sad  strains  at  the  shortness  of  life,  and  to 
day  we  stand  before  a  strange  manifestation  of  Providence. 
Why  is  it  that  the  good  man  dies,  apparently  in  the  be 
ginning  of  his  usefulness  ?  Why  is  it  that  the  hero  to 
whom  we  pinned  our  faith  has  passed  away  ?  We  had 
gone  through  the  war  victoriously,  and  had  lived  through 
reconstruction;  we  had  fought  the  fight  against  greenback 
money  and  won;  we  had  just  entered  on  the  skirts  of  our 
promised  land,  when  our  leader,  our  Joshua,  was  stricken 
down. 

GARFIELD'S  GREATNESS. 

He  was  a  man  who  united  the  best  elements  of  his  fellow 


GARFIELD' S  GREATNESS.  75 

countrymen;  he  was  firm,  yet  gentle,  and  in  him  the  lion 
and  the  lamb  seemed  to  lie  down  together;  he  was  not  an 
empty  partisan,  but  he  looked  at  all  questions  with  a  calm 
and  unbiased  mind;  he  had  a  love  for  learning,  and  he  had 
acquired  it  by  hard  and  incessant  labor;  he  had  been  bred 
upon  hardship  and  poverty,  and  he  had  lived  by  the  sweat 
of  his  brow;  moreover,  he  had  been  a  preacher  of  righteous 
ness.  With  almost  the  first  sound  of  the  trumpet  he  had 
gone  forth  to  defend  his  country,  and  he  earned  a  name  as 
one  of  her  leading  generals.  Later  he  entered  the  highest 
councils  of  the  Nation,  and  from  that  time  on  his  name  was 
found  connected  with  every  advanced  measure. 

At  length  the  Republic  called  Garfield  to  its'  highest 
office,  because  he  was  the  very  man  for  the  place.  Call  the 
names  of  all  the  men  honorable  and  useful  in  the  courts,  the 
army,  and  the  navy,  or  in  mercantile  life — was  there  any 
one  of  them  more  needed  than  he  was  ?  Four  months  only 
he  presided  over  the  Nation,  but  his  administration  gave 
splendid  promises  of  usefulness.  But  that  bright  vision 
has  vanished.  "  Garfield  has  been  shot  1"  flashed  along  the 
telegraph  wires,  and  the  whole  world  wept  with  his  family. 
The  drama  is  now  ended.  For  weeks  he  lay  fighting  for 
his  life.  There  were  no  more  laurels  to  put  on  his  brow, 
and  God  took  him.  After  twenty  years  the  train  bore  him 
westward.  He  who  entered  Washington  four  months  before 
amid  the  clanging  of  bells  and  the  joyous  shouting  of  the 
people  was  borne  away  in  silence.  Such  a  funeral  march 
as  that  was  never  seen.  Along  its  route  men  forgot,  to 
sleep,  and  watched  its  passage  at  all  times  of  the  night  with 
bowed  heads  and  in  silence.  "Blessed  are  the  dead  that 
die  in  the  Lord."  For  them  there  are  no  more  burdens  or 
sorrows.  Around  the  burial  place  of  this  man  let  mothers 
gather  with  their  children,  to  teach  them  to  be  brave  and  to 
be  honest 


76  GARFIELD'S  GREATNESS. 

COMFORT  IN  SORROW. 

But  let  us  turn  to  the  sublime  God  from  these  human 
measurements.  What  is  time  to  Him?  Man's  life  is  like 
the  bubble  on  the  sea,  which  rises  to  the  surface  and  gleams 
brightly  in  the  sun,  but  only  to  burst.  God  measures  all 
events  by  eternity,  so  that  which  may  seem  to  us  to  be  con 
fusion  is  a  benefit  in  His  eyes.  And  so  some  benefit  may 
arise  to  us  from  this  disaster.  Sometimes  a  single  act  may 
outweigh  the  rest  of  a  man's  life.  So  from  Garfield's  death 
we  may  gain  something,  although  not  in  an  exactly  similar 
way.  Washington  is  revered  for  his  life,  but  how  much 
more  elevated  his  memory  would  have  been  if  he  had  met 
with  a  tragic  death  for  his  country.  Wise  and  gentle  as 
our  Savior's  life  was,  His  death  was  of  much  more  impor 
tance.  Although  we  hoped  to  reap  so  much  from  Garfield's 
life,  we  may  reap  even  more  from  his  death.  The  North 
and  South  have  felt  for  the  first  time  the  healing  balm  of 
mutual  sympathy  and  grief.  The  wounds  left  by  the  war, 
and  not  yet  healed  over,  will  be  mollified.  There  has  been 
no  division  in  the  Nation's  sorrow,  and  it's  whole  heart  has 
beaten  together.  Charleston  has  felt  the  loss  as  bitterly  a* 
Philadelphia,  and  New  Orleans  has  been  as  sincere  in  her 
grief  as  New  York.  Nor  have  party  lines  divided  this 
sympathy. 

UNITY  OF  MANKIND. 

But  still  more  striking  than  the  unity  of  the  Nation  in 
its  grief  has  been  the  unity  of  mankind.  When  Lincoln 
was  shot,  the  world  was  shocked  rather  than  grieved. 
England  had  not  yet  learned  wisdom,  while  the  hands  of 
France  were  still  red  with  the  blood  of  Mexico.  But  now 
no  nation  has  been  so  obscure  that  it  has  not  expressed  its 
sorrow.  From  Russia  arid  Turkey  on  the  East  to  Japan 
on  the  West,  there  has  been  a  common  sorrow.  I  think 


OARFIELD'S  GREATNESS.  17 

that  never  before  has  the  heart-blood  of  the  world  been  BO 
stirred.  But  if  this  is  the  first  time,  may  it  not  be  the 
last? 

This  sympathy  had  also  a  moral  comfort.  Were  there 
ever  before  so  many  prayers  offered  up?  The  Mussulman, 
the  Catholic,  the  Protestant — all  prayed  to  God  as  they 
knew  Him,  and  in  their  own  formality.  But  did  God  re 
fuse  to  answer  them,  aud  is  prayer  a  fiction?  In  the  lower 
sphere  God  gave  no  answer;  but  in  the  higher  one  He  did. 
Is  there  no  other  answer  of  prayer  save  in  continuance  of 
life?  Could  we  not  be  more  fortified  and  strengthened  by 
President  Garfield's  death  than  by  his  life?  Is  this  not  a 
more  sublime  answer  to  our  prayers?  We  see  people  dying 
everywhere;  but  except  in  the  case  of  near  relations  or 
friends  we  scarcely  feel  that  death  is  an  affliction.  But 
why  should  Garfield  not  die?  Because  we  looked  upon 
him  as  a  tree  from  which  we  should  gather  only  good  fruit! 
But  is  it  not  better  to  have  its  branches  raised  higher  so 
that  it  will  benefit  the  whole  world? 

INSTRUCTIVE    LESSONS. 

There  are  some  lessons  to  be  drawn  from  President 
Garfield's  death,  and  there  is  one  which  I  wish  particularly 
ambitious  young  men  should  profit  by.  Our  Government 
may  be  compared  to  a  stately  mansion  which  many  are 
desirous  of  entering.  Some  walk  boldly  up  to  its  front 
entrance  and  go  in;  but  others  seek  to  enter  by  the  back 
way,  from  which  all  the  refuse  comes.  By  the  nature  of 
our  Constitution  we  are  obliged  to  send  men  to  our  legisla 
tive  bodies,  and  sometimes  the  ones  selected  are  not  the 
most  suitable  persons.  But  we  cannot  bear  to  have  the 
public  ideal  destroyed  and  the  opinion  prevail  that  he  who 
would  enter  politics  must  give  up  his  honor,  and  advance 
by  ignoble  means.  And  when  we  behold  a  man  struggling 
honorably  for  a  political  career  and  equipping  himself 


78  GARFIELD'S  GREATNESS. 

as  a  statesman,  it   is  an   example   that  honor  and  integ 
rity   are   not    incompatible   with    political    advancement 
and  that  man's  life  will  be  an  example  as  Washington's 
has  been. 

In   the  simplicity  of  our  habits,  there  has  been  no  need 
of  protection  around  our  Presidents.     And  it  is  still  true 
that  public  opinion,  with  us,  is  better  than  the  guard  of 
any  European  monarch.     There  is  no  sense  here  of  wrongs 
inflicted   upon  generation  after  generation  to  stir  men  up 
to  madness  against  their  rulers.     Our  laws  are  of  our  own 
making,  and  can  be  changed.    Then  only  a  short  time  must 
pass  before  we  are  freed  from  the  most  hateful  ruler.     Yet 
our  legislation  is  incomplete.     I  would  not  have  a  guard 
if  I  were  the  President,  for  I  had  rather  take  the  bullet 
than  be  protected  from  my  fellow-citizens.     But  an  attempt 
on  the  life  of  a  man  whom   we  have  elected  as  our  leader, 
and  upon  whom  we  all  rely,  should  be  treason,  and  its  pun 
ishment  should  be  death.     But  let  this  be  done  by   law. 
No  man  has  any  more  right  to  assassinate  Guiteau  than  he 
had  to  assassinate  President  Garfield.     Let  us  stand  for  the 
administration  of  justice.      When    the   Rebellion    ceased, 
neither  bullet,  sword   nor   halter   slew  one   man,  and  the 
moderation   of    our   people    impressed    the   whole   world. 
And  if  Guiteau  should  die.  unlawfully  there  would  be  a 
spot  upon  our  escutcheon.     I  have  been  angry  with  the 
miscreant,  but  I  have  obeyed  the  command  of   the  Lord 
not  to  let  the  sun  go  down  on  my  anger.     Indignation  has 
had  its  day;  now  let  law  have  its   day.     I  have  a  rio-ht  to 
speak   thus  of  Guiteau.     He  once  was  with  us,  but  not  of 
us.      He   sat   in   this    sanctuary    among   the   worshipers. 
Robert  Burns  expressed  a  faint  hope  in  one  of  his  poems 
that  the  devil  might  yet  be  turned  around  the  corner  and 
be  saved.     Let  us  hope  that  Guiteau's  life  will  not  be  ended 
suddenly  by  that  wanton   sentiment   into  which   vou   have 
blown  a  breath. 


GARFIELD'S  GREATNESS.  79 

But  what  shall  we  say  of  that  sorrowful  group,  Garfield's 
family;  of  the  mother,  whose  son  preceded  her,  and  of  the 
wife,  who  had  shared  her  husband's  elevation?  Love  needs 
the  presence  of  the  loved  one,  and  chastened  though  she  is, 
there  is  no  one  that  needs  oar  prayers  more  than  she. 
May  the  blessing  of  God,  enriched  by  the  tears  of  a  whole 
people,  rest  upon  his  children,  and  may  his  sons  follow  in 
his  footsteps. 


COMFORT  IN  SORROW. 

BY  ROBERT  COLLYEB,  D.D. 


Delivered  in  the  Church  of  the  Messiah,  New  York,  Sept  25, 18SL 

WE  can  meet  no  more  as  we  did  last  Sunday,  with  some 
gleam  of  hope  left,  that  a  joyful  word  would  soon  come  to 
whisper  that  God  would  give  back  the  President  to  us. 
What  we  have  feared  so  long  has  come  upon  us.  Out  of 
the  midnight  came  the  sad  cry,  "  The  President  is  dead." 
After  the  tossing  to  and  fro  unto  the  close  of  day  the  Angel 
came,  and  the  gates  of  eternal  morning  opened  swiftly  on 
our  midnight,  and  he  was  free  from  pain.  Angels  wel 
comed  him  as  he  passed  through  the  shining  portals  into 
his  final  home. 

There  was  a  little  ray  of  hope,  but  as  I  looked  down 
upon  your  faces  last  Sunday  I  could  only  think  it  had 
burned  in  your  hearts  as  in  mine,  to  the  last  spark,  hidden 
in  the  white  embers,  and  nothing  less  than  a  miracle* could 
make  it  kindle  up  again  into  a  flame  that  would  live  day  by 
day.  In  the  heart  of  the  Church  and  of  the  Nation  I  do  not 
think  the  blow,  when  it  did  come,  was  so  severe  as  we  had 
expected,  for  we  were  doing  what  we  have  done  so  often 
when  the  threads  of  life  were  breaking,  and  at  last  only 
one  is  left — we  saw  that  while  there  was  life  there  was 
hope;  but  jn  this  case,  that  life  was  death.  Yet  we 

(80) 


COMFORT  IN  SORROW.  81 

would  not  admit  that  the  pain  and  suffering  of  our  Pres 
ident  should  end  in  dissolution,  but  still  I  think  at  last  we 
came  to  that  point  that  we  could  pray  that  he  might  be 
spared  much  suffering.  He  became  so  helpless,  and  there 
was  only  one  way  out  of  it,  and  that  way  prevailed. 

When  the  news  came,  troubling  the  night  and  casting  a 
shadow  over  the  day,  I  think  there  came  over  us  a  dumb 
thanksgiving  that  the  struggle  was  over.  "We  watch  those 
we  love  while  they  live  in  the  tabernacle,  and  we  cling  to 
the  dust  when  they  are  gone,  and  while  they  are  safe  in  the 
heart  of  the  great  Divine  wonder;  yet  we  turn  to  the  face 
and  kiss  it,  because,  we  say,  it  is  all  we  have  left. 

While  there  is  some  consolation  in  all  this,  it  is  not 
enough,  and  where  shall  we  find  enough?  I  confess  it  is  as 
hard  for  me  as  for  you  to  submit  to  the  doom.  We  are  not 
resigned,  as  he  was  not  resigned.  We  may  say,  "God's 
will  be  done,"  but  we  cannot  say  that'it  is  God's  will  that  he 
should  be  taken  from  us  in  that  infernal  way,  taking  out 
the  heart  of  the  Nation  and  flying  our  banner  at  half-mast. 
It  is  a  consolation  to  us  not  to  be  resigned,  and  when  min 
isters  in  the  pulpit  say:  "  God  is  in  all  this,"  let  us  cry  out : 
"How  do  you  know?  Where  is  your  authority  for  saying 
so?"  Garfield  himself  did  not  wish  to  give  up  the  world, 
for  three  reasons.  He  loved  his  life,  he  loved  his  country, 
and  he  loved  his  family.  He  loved  his  life  in  the  West,  his 
farm,  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  the  milk  and  honey,  the  sweet- 
smelling  odors  found  about  an  old  farm  house,  that  aroma 
that  comes  from  the  fields  and  from  the  woods.  He  loved 
Ohio  better  than  u  the  fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood." 
His  love  for  the  Nation  was  blended  with  his  love  for  life. 
He  was  ready  to  work  for  the  Nation  when  the  bullet  came- 
The  love  of  country  and  of  his  life  was  crowned  with  his 
love  of  those  at  home.  After  taking  the  oath  of  office  he 
turned  and  kissed  his  mother.  With  some  men  that  would 

6 


82  COMFORT  IN  SORROW. 

have  been  only  clap-trap,  but  in  him  it  was  taking  the  sac 
rament.  All  were  proud  of  him.  How  he  battled  against 
death  for  their  sakes!  The  heart  could  not  be  broken  ag 
the  body  was,  for  he  loved  his  life  and  his  country,  and 
above  all  his  home,  and  for  their  sakes  wished  to  live.  Let 
evil  work  its  worst,  it  could  not  slay  the  heart. 

Another  spring  of  consolation  comes  from  the  tokens  of 
sympathy  and  good  will  which  came  pouring  in  as  he 
slowly  sank  into  the  grave.  If  all  this  had  been  revealed 
to  him — that  the  old  smoldering  fires  of  resentment  be 
tween  North  and  South,  between  England  and  America, 
were  being  quenched  by  the  tears  of  sympathy  for  him  and 
his  family — would  he  not  have  welcomed  his  death? 
Another  intimation  of  conso  lation  arises  from  the  fact  that 
the  Nation  will  now  inquire  after  the  root  of  this  evil,  and 
will  search  out  the  cause.  The  problem  is  no  longer  how 
shall  we  govern,  but  how  shall  we  govern  ourselves,  and 
must  our  President  be  destroyed  in  doing  this? 

There  is  consolence  for  his  widow  in  that  he  is  waiting 
and  watching  for  her;  for  his  children,  in  that  in  the  future 
their  father  will  be  spoken  of  and  placed  among  the  names 
of  Washington  and  Lincoln.  Had  he  served  out  his  term 
he  would  probably  have  made  mistakes,  for  a  weary  time 
was  waiting  for  him,  and  our  ex-Presidents  do  not  get 
much  praise.  Our  hopes  were  that  fairer  days  were  in 
store  for  him;  but  he  has  gone  to  fairer  days  above. 


OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT. 

BY  HON.  EMERY  A.  STORKS. 
Dellrered  In  the  First  M.  E.  Church,  Chicago,  Sept.  25, 1881. 

BE  sure,  my  friends,  I  am  entirely  conscious  of  the  im 
possibility  of  giving  anything  like  adequate  expression  to 
that  great  sorrow  which  weighs  upon  your  hearts,  and  upon 
the  hearts  of  50,000,000  of  people  to-night.  I  know  that 
no  language  that  I  can  possibly  employ — I  know,  indeed, 
that  no  language  that  falls  short  of  inspiration  in  its  char 
acter — could  fittingly  tell  the  grief  in  which  this  great  peo 
ple  is  involved.  Never  since  we  have  been  a  people — 
never,  indeed,  since  this  world  has  had  a  history — has  there 
been  a  mourning  so  universal,  a  grief  so  deep,  and  so  pro 
foundly  sincere;  and  how  tame  and  weak,  in  the  presence 
of  such  a  sorrow,"  which  weighs  upon  the  hearts  of  all  our 
people  like  lead,  how  tame  and  weak,  I  say,  mere  words 
seem,  to  voice  and  to  give  it  expression  !  I  shall  not  voice 
your  feelings  to-night  if  I  speak  of  the  great  dead  merely  as 
the  dead  President.  I  shall  not  voice  your  sorrows  to-night 
if  I  speak  of  the  martyred  President  as  the  noble  husband, 
as  the  patriotic  citizen,  and  as  one  filling  high  station,  as 
the  great  statesman,  as  the  devoted  Christian.  Not  all 
these  combined  would  fill  the  requisition  which  you  would 
make  upon  him  to  whom  you  look  for  the  expression  of 

(83) 


84  OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT. 

your  sorrow  and  jour  grief;  but  to  all  these  must  be  added, 
and  every  sentence  must  be  deeply  freight ed  with  words 
of  kindliest  personal  regard  and  expressions  of  tenderest 
personal  friendship. 

I  wish  to  supplement'  what  3^011  r  pastor  has  said.  The 
Christian  Churches  do  not  merely  honor  the  memory  of 
President  Garfield  because  he  believed  in  the  Bible,  in 
which  you  believe  and  1  believe,  nor  because  he  believed  in 
that  blessed  Savior  in  whom  you  believe  and  I  believe.  It 
honors  him,  not  merely  that  he  was  a  believer,  nor  merely 
because  he  was  a  preacher  of  its  doctrine,  but  it  honors  him 
above  all  things  and  beyond  all  things  because  in  the  low 
liest  station  and  in  the  highest  station,  in  bis  daily  walk 
and  conversation,  he  illustrated  the  majestic  truths  of  the 
Bible  in  which  he  believed,  and  the  divine  character  of  the 
blessed  Savior  whose  example  he  followed. 

"What  is  there  that  makes  this  mourning  so  universal! 
The  whole  world  is  filled  with  it,  and  during  these  long, 
sad,  dreadful,  weary  weeks  through  which  we  have  passed, 
Gen.  Garfield  has  come  to  be  something  more  than  our 
President.  He  has  been  enshrined  in  every  home,  and 
folded  with  an  infinite  loving  tenderness  into  every  heart. 
Tottering  old  age  has  left  its  corner,  prattling  childhood  has 
abandoned  its  sports,  to  inquire,  "How  is  the  dear,  good 
President  to-day  ?"  And  prayers,  and  hopes,  and  fears  have 
filled  all  the  atmosphere,  and  enveloped  us  like  it,  until  at 
last  the  dreadful  shock  came;  and  the  mighty  sob,  heard  all 
over  the  continent,  which  is  carried  all  around  the  globe, 
and  in  which  every  civilized  people  have  joined,  teaches  us 
the  blessed  truth  of  the  universal  brotherhood  and  humanity 
of  man. 

1  cannot  speak  alone  to-night  of  Gen.  Garfield  as  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States.  I  cannot  speak  of  him  merely 
as  legislator.  I  cannot  speak  of  him,  if  I  fitly  express  our 


OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT.  85 

feelings,  as  Senator,  or  as  Congressman,  or  as  statesman,  or 
as  politician,  or  as  lawyer,  or  as  citizen.  I  must  speak  of 
him  in  a  connection  dearer  than  all  else  to  me.  When  I 
think  of  him  there  comes  rushing  back  upon  my  mind  the 
memory  of  these  past  years;  and  let  me,  my  good  friends, 
lay  at  your  feet  to-night,  poor  as  it  may  be,  the  tribute  of 
one  who  loved  him  tenderly  and  well. 

Gen.  Garfield  made  the  whole  circuit  of  our  noblest  and 
best  American  life.  He  described  it  all.  He  suffered  and 
he  rejoiced.  He  strove  and  he  succeeded.  He  tried  and  he 
failed  like  all  the  rest  of  us.  Disappointments,  triumphs — 
all  these  checkered  his  splendid  life  as  we  look  back  upon 
it  as  a  completed  whole;  but  the  marvelous  feature  of  that 
life  seems  to  me  to  be  after  all,  as  we  look  upon  it  now,  its 
wonderful  and  its  absolutely  perfect  naturalness. 

lie  never  reached  a  position  that  he  did  n't  seem  natur 
ally  to  fill.  He  never  achieved  a  single  elevation  that  did 
not  seem  to  be  so  thoroughly  due  to  him.  He  never 
aspired — in  its  vain,  mean  sense — to  place,  but  place  came 
to  him.  No  man  in  all  this  broad  land  is  any  poorer  to-day 
for  what  James  A.  Gartield  has  been.  No  ambitious  man 
in  all  this  continent  is  any  lower  to-day  because  of  the 
splendid  heights  which  James  A.  Garfield  reached.  He 
entertained  no  rancors  toward  a  single  human  being.  And 
when  their  hearts  were  probed,  no  single  human  being  held 
a  rancor  against  James  A.  Garfield.  He  never  despised  a 
living  creature,  and  no  living  creature  ever  contemned  him. 
He  never  harmed  a  human  being,  and,  but  for  the  one,  no 
human  being  would  ever  have  wittingly  harmed  James  A. 
Gartield.  lie  never  selfishly  stood  in  any  human  being's 
way,  and  when  great  bodies  of  men  disagreed,  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  human  beings  got  out  of  his  way,  and 
asked  him  to  stand  up  higher. 

A  little  more  than  one  year  ago,  in  a  great  convention — 


86  OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT. 

the  grandest  in  some  of  its  aspects  the  world  has  ever  wit 
nessed — we  strove  and  strove,  day  after  day,  and  day  after 
day,  each  one  pursuing  his  own  choice  and  his  own  ambi 
tion,  but  when  the  final  end  came,  James  A.  Garfield  had  of 
fended  no  man,  James  A.  Garfield  had  wounded  no  one,  and 
when  the  rushing  tide  came,  every  heart  in  that  great  body  and 
this  great  Nation  said  Amen.  In  the  contests  of  his  own  State 
the  word  "  contest  "  ceased,  and  there  was  no  contest.  In 
the  conflicts  of  the  legislative  forum  the  word  "  conflict 9r 
ceased  to  have  a  meaning,  and  there  was  no  conflict.  There 
was  no  bitterness  in  his  heart,  and  there  was  never  slander 
on  his  tongue. 

You  may  search  the  record  of  that  pure  and  spotless  life, 
and  all  through  it  you  cannot  find  one  unkind  or  one  un 
generous  word  uttered  of  a  human  being.  My  friends, 
challenge  your  memories.  How  bright  and  spotless  will 
this  simple  record  some  of  these  days  become,  growing 
from  the  ground  up,  suffering  with  the  people,  of  the  peo 
ple,  sympathies  quick  for  the  people;  of  towering,  and  I 
might  almost  have  said  of  a  colossal,  but  a  noble  ambition. 
Assailed  as  but  very  few  men  have  been  assailed,  yet  his 
gentleness  and  his  nobility  disarmed  them  all,  and  the 
slanders  of  his  enemies  fell  harmless  and  worthless  at  his 
feet. 

Pursue  his  career  in  his  own  State.  How  marvelous  it 
seems  to  be  to-day,  and  how  natural.  The  school  boy,  the 
teacher,  the  preacher,  the  soldier,  as  brave  as  he  was  mod 
est  and  as  modest  as  lie  was  brave.  His  soul,  his  life  itself, 
as  he  periled  it,  he  held  in  slight  esteem  when  the  honor  of 
his  Nation  was  involved.  He  knew  not  what  fear  was;  but 
of  all  the  pities  that  ana-els  ever  felt,  none  were  softer  and 
tenderer  than  that  of  James  A.  Garfield  for  a  vanquished 
ibe.  And  thus  everybody  came  to  love  him;  thus  it  is 
that  everybody  does  love  him;  thus  it  is  that  through  all 


OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT.  87 

the  homes,  on  every  hillside,  in  every  valley  of  this  great 
land,  there  is  no  spot  in  which  the  memory  of  our  dear 
dead  President  is  not  enshrined  as  the  most  sacred  and 
blessed  among  all  their  possessions. 

.1  have  said  how  natural  his  life  was — how  easy  was  its 
flow.  There  were  no  leaps;  there  were  no  sudden  advance?. 
There  was  nothing  theatric  nor  dramatic  in  his  manner.  It 
was  one  day  of  honest,  earnest,  patriotic  well  doing,  follow 
ing  right  along  after  the  other,  in  as  noiseless  and  as  beau 
tiful  a  succession  as,  under  the  hands  of  the  Almighty,  the 
seasons  make  their  courses  as  the  ages  roll  on.  This  is  our 
dead  President.  I  have  said  to  you  that  above  and  beyond 
all  the  honor  that  I  have  for  him  in  every  department  of 
life  that  he  has  filled,  there  is  something  that  comes  much 
nearer  my  heart  when  I  remember  him  as  I  have  seen  him. 
I  know  how  simple  the  story  of  reminiscence  must  be,  and 
I  know  that  no  eulogy  is  so  fitly  or  so  expressively  spoken 
as  the  simple  language  of  the  simple  days  that  great  men 
have  lived.  During  the  last  campaign  I  met  the  General,, 
as  we  all  called  him,  again  and  again.  From  the  day  that 
he  received  the  nomination  here  at  Chicago  I  never  saw 
him  look,  and  I  never  heard  him  express  a  doubt — not  a 
whisper  nor  a  suggestion  of  a  doubt.  I  never  heard  him 
make  an  unkind  criticism,  although  I  did  hear  him  again 
and  again  and  repeatedly  insist  upon  it  that  whatever  the 
result  might  be  no  man  in  all  this  Union  would  be  so  thor 
oughly  satisfied  with  it  as  himself,  provided  every  man  be 
neath  the  flag,  high  or  low,  rich  or  poor,  black  or  white, 
should  vote  precisely  what  he  thought,  and  that  his  vote 
shou.d  be  counted  as  it  was  cast. 

I  remember  meeting  him  at  Mentor.  I  think  I  shall 
never  forget  that.  Reaching  Cleveland  just  upon  the  eve 
of  the  election  in  Ohio,  thoroughly  fatigued,  in  some  way 
or  other  Gen.  Garfield  had  learned  that  I  was  almost  dis- 


88  OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT 

abled  for  further  exertion,  and  there  came  into  my  room 
late  that  night,  or  rather  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
a  dispatch  from  the  General,  saying  that  I  must  go  down  to 
Mentor  in  the  morning,  and  so  down  to  Mentor  I  went. 
We  had  heard  the  news  from  Maine.  You  know  how  bad 
it  was — how  discouraging  it  was.  I  met  him  at  the  station, 
and  a  cheerier,  heartier,  breezier  man,  it  seemed  to  me,  I 
never  met  in  all  my  life.  I  went  to  his  home  with  him, 
and  we  talked  a  little  of  politics,  but  very  little.  lie  had 
been  reading  Burke,  and  he  took  down  a  volume  of  Burke 
in  his  library,  and  called  my  attention  to  one  or  two  of  those 
splendid  passages  of  his,  in  one  of  which — and  I  shall  always 
remember  it — occurred  the  wise  expression:  "He  who 
accuses  all  mankind  as  being  guilty  of  corruption  is  sure  to 
convict  but  one."  How  wise,  the  General  said,  this  was, 
and  how  well  it  would  be  could  the  captious  fault-finders  of 
the  country  thoroughly  appreciate  what  that  greatest  and 
most  substantial  of  all  reformers  said.  And  so  we  spent 
the  day,  talking  over  the  campaign,  looking  through  his 
books,  going  about  his  farm — talking  less  of  politics,  a  great 
deal  less,  than  of  literature;  and  the  time  came  when  I 
must  go,  for  I  was  to  speak  that  night  at  Cleveland,  and  he 
got  out  that  good,  old,  honest,  country  hor.  e  of  his,  as 
honest  and  plain  as  his  owner,  and  drove  me  to  the  station. 
I  remember  his  speaking  of  what  his  friends  had  done  for 
him,  the  time  they  had  spent,  and  the  earnestness  that  they 
exhibited;  and  putting  his  arms  around  my  shoulder,  and 
calling  me  by  my  first  name,  he  said:  u  I  should  be  guilty 
of  the  greatest  ingratitude — I  know  I  never  can  do  it — 
I  must  always  remember  what  through  all  this  country 
all  these  people  have  done." 

I  saw  our  poor  President  again  not  until  April,  calling 
upon  him,  of  course,  immediately  upon  my  arrival  in 
Washington,  as  it  was  my  pleasure  and  my  duty  to  do. 


OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT.  89 

There  was  no  opportunity  whatever  for  conversation.  He 
asked  me  to  come  to  the  White  House  that  night,  and  of 
course  I  went;  but  there  was  no  talk  of  politics.  Senators 
were  there,  and  other  people  who  took  his  attention,  and  we 
simply  talked  of  his  pictures;  but  again,  at  his  request,  I 
went.  His  wife  was  in  New  York;  his  mother  was  there. 
He  asked  me  to  lunch,  and  I  spent  three  hours  with  him 
that  day,  almost  alone.  Nobody,  indeed,  came  in,  except 
Dr.  Baxter,  of  whose  name  you  have  heard  so  much.  As 
we  were  about  half  through  with  our  conversation,  Dr.  Bax 
ter  came  in,  and  the  President  complained  of  difficulty  with 
his  head,  pain  in  the  back  of  his  neck,  and  said  that  he  was 
feverish.  Dr.  Baxter  looked  at  him,  and  the  President 
passed  out.  A  little  alarmed,  I  asked  the  Doctor  what  was 
the  matter — if  there  was  anything  the  matter  with  the  spine, 
or  anything  of  that  sort.  He  said,  "  No,  not  the  slightest; 
the  poor  man  has  been  absolutely  run  over,  beseiged  unto 
death  almost  by  seekers  after  office.  All  he  wants  is  quiet 
and  rest,  and,"  said  Dr.  Baxter,  "he  is  good  for  fifty  years." 
Some  allusion  has  been  made  to  it  here,-  and  almost  the 
first  thing  that  he  said,  I  remember,  as  we  got  into  the 
library,  was  his  utter  disgust  for  that  part  of  his  official 
duties — utter  and  complete.  He  looked  it,  and  he  felt  it. 
He  threw  up  his  hands  as  he  spoke  in  a  sort  of  despair,  and 
he  said:  "  When  can  I  ever  got  rid  of  this?  How  insig 
nificant  it  all  seems  to  me  to  be!"  And  then,  sitting 
down,  he  said:  "  You  know  we  are  something  alike  in  one 
respect — we  like  a  stupendous  debate  on  some  question  of 
doctrine,  have  it  settled,  shake  hands  and  make  up,  and  go 
along  and  settle  another  question.  But  these  dreadful 
things,  it  seems  to  me,  never  will  be  settled."  "  Why,"  I 
said,  "Mr.  President,  I  am  not  as  good  a  mannered  man 
as  you  are,  I  am  not  as  gentle  a  man  as  you  are.  You 
have  asked  me  to  talk  to  you  quite  plainly.  Why  don't 


90  OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT. 

you  disperse  this  mob?"  He  said:  "  How  can  it  be  done?" 
I  said:  "  Divide  it  into  seven  parts.  You  have  seven 
members  of  your  Cabinet.  Divide  the  mob  up  into  seven 
parts,  and  if  there  is  danger  of  one-seventh  of  the  mob  kill 
ing  any  of  }rour  Cabinet  officers,  have  them  hire  help,  and 
have  subdivisions  all  the  way  down  until  it  is  one  at  a  time, 
if  it  is  necessary  for  your  relief."  And  so  we  went  all  over 
the  field  of  politics.  There  were  a  great  many  troubles  in 
the  political  sky  at  that  time.  I  am  not  going  to  talk 
about  them  now,  but  I  will  tell  you  how  gently  and  affec 
tionately  he  spoke  of  everybody. 

There  was  not  a  man  who  was  considered  his  enemy  at 
that  time  that  he  did  not  speak  of  him  in  the  gentlest  and 
most  affectionate  terms.  And  I  told  him  what  a  gentle 
man  whom  he  had  supposed  was  at  enmity  with  him,  had 
said  about  him — some  kind,  pleasant  word.  I  said  to  him: 
"  Mr.  President,  I  am  not  here,  it  is  no  part  of  my  mission, 
to  tell  you  disagreeable  things,  but  I  want  to  tell  you  what 
Senator  so-and-so  said  to  me  no  longer  ago  than  yesterday 
— a  good,  kind,  manly  recognition  of  your  qualities  " — and 
he  was  as  pleased  and  delighted  at  it  as  a  boy;  and  he 
spoke  of  the  same  Senator  words  freighted  with  good  feel 
ing,  and  of  those  who  were  supposed  to  be  in  hostility  to 
him,  mentioning  them  by  name.  Not  one  single  syllable 
dropped  from  his  lips  that  I  did  not  feel  it  a  most  exquisite 
pleasure  to  convey  to  the  men  concerning  whom  he  had 
spoken. 

And  again  and  again  I  saw  him.  I  can't  recall  it  all. 
It  would  take  all  night  if  I  undertook  to  do  it.  I  never 
can  describe  to  you  the  exquisitely  friendly  manner  that  lie 
had.  Those  who  have  ever  known  Geu.  Garfield  loved  him 
as  you  would  love  a  wife,  as  you  would  love  a  daughter. 
It  was  not  a  mere  feeling  of  admiration.  It  was  a  feeling 
of  deep,  intense  personal  affection  and  regard. 


OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT.  91 

And  the  idea  that  he  could  do  anything  that  was  wit 
tingly  unjust  seemed  to  me  to  be  utterly  impossible.  Know 
ing  the  man  as  I  did,  seeing  him  as  I  have,  I  don't  think, 
so  conspicuously  free,  and  clear,  and  honest  was  his  nature, 
that  it  would  have  been  possible  for  James  A.  Garfield  to 
have  done  an  unjust  thing  if  he  had  tried.  I  recall 
the  day  when  the  children  of  Washington  had  a  festival  ; 
and  I  remember  it  now  because  it  was  one  of  the  little 
events  worth  while  recollecting,  while  I  was  in  Washington. 
Some  notes  were  brought  in  to  him  from  the  children,  ask 
ing  that  they  might  be  allowed  to  roll  their  eggs  on  the 
White-House  lawn.  It  is  a  great  festival  day  in  Washing 
ton,  and  a  custom  peculiar,  I  think,  to  Washington  alone. 
There  were  a  great  many  notes,  and  they  were  answered  in 
the  President's  charming  manner.  And  when  we  went  in 
to  the  library  and  got  a  view  of  the  lawn — it  slopes  very 
gently,  as  those  who  have  been  there  will  remember — there 
seemed  to  be  thousands  of  children  engaged  in  that  curious 
sport  of  rolling  eggs  down  the  lawn;  and  there  was  no  child 
there  half  so  delighted,  half  so  charmed,  with  the  sport  as 
the  dear,  good  President,  who  had  opened  the  White- House 
grounds  for  the  innocent  play  of  the  day.  And  there  he  was 
so  burdened  with  all  these  tremendous  cares. 

But  let  me  say  one  thing  more.  It  was  perfectly  clear 
to  my  mind,  notwithstanding  all  this  gentleness  of  de 
meanor,  notwithstanding  all  this  tenderness  of  feeling  for 
friend  and  for  foe,  that,  when  the  President  had  finally 
made  up  his  mind  as  to  what  was  the  fitting  and  the  prop 
er  course  for  him  to  pursue,  he  was  going  to  adhere  to  it 
undeviatingly  and  unswervingly  unto  the  end.  When  I 
left  him  I  had  no  mistake  about  it.  I  was  in  no  sort  of 
doubt.  I  knew  that  certain  things  would  be  done.  I  knew 
perfectly  well  that  certain  things  would  not  be  done. 
There  was  no  anger  about  it.  It  was  a  feeling  infinitely 


92  OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT. 

loftier  and  holier  than  anger.  There  was  no  passion  what 
soever  in  it.  He  made  up  his  mind  on  those  grave  ques 
tions  without  compassion.  I  think  I  can  say  it  truthfully — 
he  was  almost  absolutely  impersonal.  I  had  known  him 
for  years,  but  the  iron  strength  of  that  solid  resolution 
down  in  his  soul,  and  encysted  with  that  tenderness  of 
spirit,  never  exhibited  itself  to  me  before  as  it  did  that  day. 

And  so  the  days  went  on,  and  he  was  President.  I  know 
we  talked;  he  delighted  as  a  boy  over  the  wonderful  recep 
tion  that  his  Administration  had  met  in  its  opening  days 
from  the  people,  and  he  compared  it  to  a  great  ship.  He 
said:  "How  splendid  it  seemed.  A  crew  faithful  to  the 
last,  the  winds  all  favoring,  the  skies  all  clear,  triumphal 
music  sounding  upon  its  white  and  stainless  decks,  floats 
from  the  shore,"  and  he  said,  "  and  it  would  be  some  honor, 
out  in  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  smitten  by  storm  and  en 
veloped  by  seas,  to  go  down  gargling  to  the  bottom;  but," 
he  says,  "  we  cannot  afford  to  be  stranded  in  the  bay.  The 
ship  must  go  out  to  sea."  And  I  know  that  his  wish 
was — it  was  the  solid  prayer  of  his  heart  every  hour — that 
the  great  J)arty  of  which  he  was  the  head — the  elected  and 
the  selected  head — and  which  he  believed  was  the  custodian 
for  the  years  to  come  of  the  priceless  treasure  of  free  gov 
ernment  among  men — might  rule  the  country;  but  he 
loved  the  great  Nation  better  than  he  loved  the  party.  He 
was  in  no  sense  a  factionist,  and  never  could  be.  He  loved 
the  party  because  he  believed  its  existence  was  indispensa 
ble  for  the  prosperity  of  the  country,  and,  to  secure  it,  he 
would  have  sunk  party  faction — all  other  interests — deeper 
than  ever  plummet  sounded,  if  it  became  necessary. 

And  thus,  my  friends,  it  comes  to  pass  again  that  the 
sorrow  over  the  death  of  our  good  President  comes  from 
no  section  of  the  country.  The  grief  is  the  same  every 
where;  the  skies  are  as  black  South  as  they  are  North; 


OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT.  93 

homes  are  stricken  there  as  they  are  here;  for  they  of  the 
South  know  that  that  noble  heart  never  throbbed  that  it 
did  not  pulse  with  love  for  the  whole  Union.  They  knew 
that  while  he  wanted  no  solid  South,  he  wanted  no  solid 
North.  He  wanted  a  great,  splendid,  God-fearing,  prosper 
ous  and  happy  Nation.  They  knew  that  he  would  make 
them  prosperous  if  they  would  but  let  him.  Hardly  a  week 
had  flown  by  when  every  man  in  the  South,  no  matter  how 
deeply  in  his  heart  rankled  the  bitterness  of  the  old  time, 
knew  that  if  he  had  no  friend  elsewhere,  he  had  in  the  Pres 
ident  of  the  United  States  a  friend  upon  whose  wise  coun 
sels  he  could  always  rely.  There  was  no  laboring  man  in 
all  this  great  land  who  toiled  and  sweated  for  daily  subsis 
tence,  that  did  not  know  the  President  was  his  friend. 
There  was  no  scholar  struggling  to  a  higher  life  and  a 
clearer  light,  that  did  not  know  that  Garfield  was  his 
friend,  and  sympathized  with  him.  There  was  no 
statesman,  looking  for  a  broader  and  holier  statecman- 
ship,  that  did  not  know  that  he  had  a  friend  in  the  Pres 
ident  of  the  United  States.  There  was  no  oppressed  and 
stricken  man  anywhere,  whose  rights  the  law  failed  to 
vindicate,  that  did  not  know  that  he  could  appeal  to  the 
great  head  of  a  great  Nation,  and  that  his  prayer  would  be 
heard.  There  was  not  in  all  the  South  a  cabin  so  low  or  a 
swamp  so  desolate,  where  the  disfranchised  citizen  might 
be  driven  to  escape  from  unrelenting  foes,  but  that  he 
knew  that  no  matter  how  low  his  whisper,  or  how  weak  his 
cry,  the  quick  ear  of  the  President  of  the  United  States 
would  be  sure  to  catch  them  both.  Thus  the  whole  land 
loved  him.  Leaving  the  mighty  cares  which  he  had  as 
sumed,  leaving  the  burden  of  this  stupendous  responsibility  ^ 
with  his  past  career  illumined  all  the  way  with  light,  this  good 
husband,  this  kind  father,  this  brave  soldier,  this  patriotic 
citizen,  this  profound  scholar,  this  great  statesman,  this 


94  OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT. 

modest  man,  this  true  and  faithful  friend,  turned  his  back 
upon  his  official  place  and  power,  and  sought  the  college  of 
his  old  days. 

There  is  mixed  with  this  dreadful  bereavement  some 
thing  in  the  nature  of  a  calamity,  a  feeling  of  utter  shame 
and  humiliation,  that  among  all  these  50,000,000  of  people 
one  miscreant  heart  could  be  found  that  would  conceive/, 
and  one  villain  hand  could  be  found  that  would  execute, 
his  death.  Wounded  unto  death,  they  carried  him  back; 
and  since  these  days  there  is  not  a  home  in  all  this  land 
that  has  not  had  the  spirit  and  presence  of  the  poor  suffer 
ing  and  wounded  President  within  it.  How  we  have 
watched  through  the  days  and  through  the  nights,  and 
and  how  the  first  thought,  as  dawn  has  broken  upon  us, 
was,  "  How  has  the  President  passed  the  night?"  and  the 
last  prayer  that  we  have  uttered  as  we  have  sunk  upon  our 
couch  was  that  the  good  President,  the  head  of  our  great 
Nation,  might  rest  sweetly  and  safely  through  the  night! 
There  is  nothing,  my  friends,  in  all  the  history  of  this  world 
half  so  tearful  or  half  so  sad.  The  world  has  never  before 
witnessed  anything  like  it;  and  if  the  spirit  of  these  fifty 
millions  of  people  could  have  taken  bodily  form  and  shape 
there,  they  would  have  been  seen,  with  the  angels  from 
Heaven,  hovering  over  the  bed  of  pain  of  oar  dear  Presi 
dent,  from  which,  during  all  these  hours  of  sore  anguish 
and  sorrow,  there  never  came  one  complaint. 

How  dear  he  is  to  us,  for  the  tender  words  that  upon 
that  dying  bed  he  has  uttered!  No  reproach  has  escaped 
his  lips.  He  has  watched  his  own  life  fast  ebbing  away. 
Taken  from  the  malarious  atmosphere  of  the  Capitol,  borne 
by  the  sounding  sea,  with  his  eyes  resting  upon  its  billows, 
there  the  life  of  the  good  President  "  went  out  with  the 
tide."  In  these  last  hours  that  came  to  him,  his  poor, 
wrecked,  shattered,  and  benumbed  body,  be  sure,  felt  no 


OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT.  95 

pain.  All  agonies  had  ceased,  all  sufferings  and  sorrows 
had  closed,  and  before  that  pure  heart  and  across  it  the  past 
seemed  to  swim  like  a  hurrying  vision.  Back  it  carried 
him  to  the  old  school  days — there  was  no  reproach  and  no 
etain  there;  back  to  the  early  triumphs  of  his  boyhood — 
there  was  no  reproach  there;  back  to  his  budding  ambition 
— there  was  no  shame  nor  dishonor  there;  back  to  the  time 
when,  feeling  the  honor  of  the  land  he  loved  so  much  as 
sailed,  he  periled  his  life  that  the  land  he  loved  so  much 
might  know  no  dishonor — there  was  no  discredit  there; 
back  to  his  long  and  splendid  record  as  a  legislator — no  dis 
honor  there;  back  to  the  achievement  of  the  loftiest  ambi 
tions  of  earth — there  was  neither  spot,  nor  blemish,  nor 
any  such  thing  there.  The  old  memories  of  the  old  time 
filled  his  soul  as  if  the  sunshine  coming  from  the  throne  of 
the  eternal  God  had  blazed  all  over  it  and  the  future  lifted 
to  our  President — that  future  into  which  he  soon  went — 
and  there,  be  sure,  like  the  telegraphic  message  that  runs 
from  the  heart  of  every  living  creature  to  the  throne  and 
bosom  of  the  Eternal  God,  he  heard  that  welcome,  "  Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant;  enter  into  the  joy  of  thy 
Lord." 

The  pinions  of  unseen  angels  bore  him  there,  and  there, 
this  night,  robed  in  spotless  white  and  surrounded  by  the 
great  of  all  the  ages,  stands  our  President  and  our  friend, 
raining  benedictions  upon  us  who  are  mourning  for  him. 

In  the  presence  of  such  a  sorrow,  which  is  not  unaccom 
panied  with  a  holy  and  an  almost  ecstatic  joy,  how  weak  is 
the  talk  of  party,  and  how  mean  the  cry  of  faction !  Stand 
ing  by  the  open  grave  of  this  noble  citizen  and  this  pa 
triot  President,  we  may  say:  Hush  strife  and  quarrel 
over  this  solemn  scene.  Enemies  no  longer,  friends  for 
ever;  and,  linked  hand  in  hand,  take  a  solemn  vow  togeth 
er  that  in  that  grave  shall  be  buried  all  of  bitterness  and 


96  OUR  GOOD  PRESIDENT. 

all  df  party  hate.  Over  that  pure  life  there  shall  come  a 
penetrating  perfume  which  shall,  you  may  be  sure,  float  all 
around  the  globe,  and  intoxicate  every  other  nation  with 
the  hope  of  liberty. 

Our  good  President  is  dead  I  The  fires  of  his  earthly 
tabernacle  are  all  burned  out,  but  burning  with  a  clear, 
white  light,  we  shall  place  the  memory  of  that  pure  life) 
like  a  beacon  light,  upon  the  headlands  of  this  world's 
history  in  all  the  ages  to  come. 

My  good  friends,  the  very  fact  that  throughout  all  our 
great  land,  in  such  halls  as  this,  and  under  such  sacred  in 
fluences  as  these  millions  are  this  night  gathered,  would  al 
most  reconcile  us  to  our  mighty  bereavement.  The  past  of 
James  A.  Garh'eld  is  secure.  No  domestic  enemy  nor 
foreign  foe  can  ever  hurt  him  more.  His  memory  is  ours. 
His  fame  is  ours,  and  I  would  take  it  to  my  heart  and 
treasure  it  as  the  most  priceless  jewel  in  all  our  earthly  pos 
sessions:  Patriot,  citizen,  Christian  gentleman,  President, 
friend!  All  that  we  can  say  is,  our  hearts  sound  his  dirges, 
God  bless  his  name,  and — farewell  I 


GARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


BY  HON.  R.  STOCKETT  MATHEWS. 


Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Services  in  Grace  M.  E.  Church,  Baltimore,  Sept  26,  1881- 

OVER  all  the  better  portions  of  the  vast  earth  the  wisest 
and  best  of  mankind  are  mourning  as  never  before  for  the 
death  of  only  one  of  the  unnumbered  millions  of  our  race. 
Peasant  and  prince,  kings  and  queens,  hewers  of  wood  and 
drawers  of  water,  as  well  as  the  leaders  of  thought  and  dis 
covery  and  progress,  are  turning  their  eyes  towards  the  new 
continent  and  its  young  Republic  with  unaffected  sorrow, 
almost  as  keen,  well  nigh  as  profound  as  our  own. 

Never  before  has  just  such  an  existence  passed  through 
so  many  picturesque  phases  to  an  ending  so  pathetically 
tragic,  so  violent,  so  appalling.  He  was  the  son  of  a  widow, 
born  in  a  cabin;  he  fell  from  that  station  which  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States  are  wont  to  deem  the  zenith  of  earthly 
ambition,  while  the  plaintive  monody  of  grief  which  flows 
from  the  stricken  heart  of  the  Nation  is  repeated  and  echoed 
a^ain  and  again,  until  its  reverberations  traverse  the  cir 
cumference  of  our  planet,  and  return  to  mingle  with  the 
still  fresh  lamentations  on  our  farthest  shores.  He  possessed 
so  many  attractive  qualities  of  personal  character,  united 
with  so  many  and  such  varied  capabilities  for  usefulness 
and  distinction,  that  in  the  calamity  of  his  death,  the  cont- 
7  (97) 


98  GARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

sedations  of  memory,  as  we  ponder  on  what  he  was,  and  has 
achieved,  are  impotent  to  soothe  the  anguish  of  a  thousand 
ungratified  hopes,  when  we  try  darkly  to  foreshadow  what 
he  might  have  been  and  done.  Nature  and  culture,  each 
at  its  best,  were  to  be  seen  in  his  full  development,  joining 
the  graciousness  of  an  even,  unselfish  temperament  to  the 
tender  strength  of  constant  affections,  the  generous  enthu 
siasms  of  a  large  and  liberal  soul,  with  every  grace,  refine 
ment  and  fascination  of  speech  and  manner  which  could  be 
acquired  by  the  pursuit  of  the  noblest  objects  and  familiar 
ity  with  the  most  elevating  books.  uThe  two  noblest 
things,  which  are  sweetness  and  light,"  says  Dean  Swift; 
and  of  them,  the  man — the  magistrate  who  has  gone — had 
more  than  ample  share,  mingling  in  such  harmony  that 
while  one  deplores  the  perishing  of  the  statesman  by  the 
ignoble  hand  of  an  assassin,  one  renders  the  homage  of  a 
genuine  grief,  of  a  stunning  sadness,  for  which  tears  are 
only  the  eloquence  to  the  son,  the  husband,  the  father,  whose 
virtues  have  ennobled  humanity  in  our  own  eyes. 

It  is  an  inspiration,  as  we  contemplate  his  public  course 
of  a  single  score  of  years,  not  so  much  to  emulate  his  in 
tellectual  attainments,  or  to  take  pattern  after  his  eminent 
performances,  but  to  become  such  as  he  was  to  those  near 
est  to  him,  by  the  fireside,  in  the  library — to  fit  ourselves 
to  be  trusted  and  respected  as  he  was.  Gentleness  of  dis 
position,  a  heart  luminous  with  joy  and  manly  cheerful 
ness,  are  potent  to  win  and  hold  the  attachments  of  all 
with  whom  we  have  to  do.  After  all,  to  be  able  to  forge 
the  enduring  bonds  which  are  made  fast  and  strong  by  the 
affinities  of  taste  and  sympathy  and  feeling,  and  to  come 
back  from  toil  or  sacrifices  or  leadership  into  the  privacy 
of  the ^  enchanting  home,  where  love  is  master  of  all  feasts 
and  ceremonies,  and  genuine  friends,  however  few,  gather 
about  us — this  is,  indeed,  the  richest  compensation  for 


GARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  99 

•every  endeavor;  the  charm  and  unchanging  delight  of  the 
highest  form  of  life.  It  is  because  he  shone  conspicuous 
for  these  social  and  domestic  attributes;  because  he  had 
such  a  simple,  symmetrical  human  personality  that  his 
taking-ofF,  "  a  deed  without  a  name,"  appeals  with  such 
pitiful  intensity  to  all  our  better  emotions,  and  we  are  not 
guilty  of  weakness  when  we  weep  over  him,  either  in  soli 
tude  or  with  the  multitude. 

Only  a  little  while  ago  (here  the  speaker  paused  for  a  mo 
ment,  and  resuming,  said:)  I  had  written  thus  far,  and 
nothing  more,  when  the  realization  of  the  tremendous  loss 
to  which  our  people  and  all  posterity  have  so  suddenly  been 
subjected  came  over  me,  and  with  it,  in  mental  procession 
all  its  possible,  saddest  consequences,  conjured  by  no  wil 
ling  imagination,  I  was  forced  to  lay  aside  my  pen  and 
wait  until  I  should  come  into  the  presence  of  an  audience 
whose  faith  and  prayers  might  drive  the  unwelcome  visions 
from  my  thoughts.  Only  a  little  while  ago — it  seems  as  if 
we  could  reach  the  day  by  simply  putting  out  our  hands 
towards  the  invisible  calendar — Washington  beheld  such  a 
pageant  as  it  had  never  witnessed  in  all  preceding  time. 

Only  a  little  while  ago  a  young  man,  in  the  fullness  of 
his  physical  bloom  and  beauty,  who  had  not  yet  reached 
the  ripeness  and  maturity  of  his  transcendent  intellect, 
stood  in  the  presence  of  thousands  of  his  admiring  fellow 
citizens — the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  before 
him,  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the  Nation  around 
him ;  just  by  his  side  the  mother  who  had  borne  and  raised 
him,  and  had  carried  him  through  privation  and  poverty; 
the  wife  whose  gentle  nature  had  tempered  his  own  to  a 
richer  fineness,  at  his  right  hand.  And  when  he  had  re 
peated  the  great  oath,  that  he  would  see  that  the  Republic 
should  suffer  no  detriment,  and  it  had  been  carried  up  to  be 
recorded  for  all  eternity,  his  first  act  of  thanksgiving,  of 


100  QARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

recognition  to  the  instruments  which  had  been  most  power 
ful  in  the  moulding  and  the  fashioning  of  his  character, 
and  the  inspiration  and  the  guidance  of  his  career — his  first 
act  was  to  turn  and  kiss  the  woman  whose  lips  had  taught 
him  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  then  the  woman  from  whose 
lips  he  had  drawn  the  first  sweet  baptism  of  that  love 
which  surpasses  every  rapture  known  on  earth.  And  then 
he  began  this  brief  administration  of  the  few  months  in 
which,  with  almost  startling  suddenness,  he  revealed  to  our 
people  new  qualities  which  are  possible  to  public  men; 
moral  courage  that  was  absolutely  inflexible,  a  superiority 
to  malign  counsels  and  untoward  influences,  that  would  not. 
for  a  moment  permit  him  to  stoop  to  any  concession  be 
neath  the  dignity  of  the  Executive  prerogative,  although  by 
dalliance  or  temporizing  he  might  have  bought  peace  and 
quiet  for  himself. 

His  secretary  of  the  treasury,  whose  ability  and  long 
training  are  supplemented  by  the  sound  and  accurate 
views  of  his  superior,  went  on  to  finish  that  great  act — of 
funding  the  national  debt — which  has  made  the  students  of 
finance  in  other  States  marvel  beyond  expression  at  the 
lessons  of  statesmanship  which  are  being  taught  in  our 
own,  and  everywhere,  from  Maine  to  California,  from  Ore 
gon  to  Florida,  although  hosts  of  those  who  were  seeking 
the  substantial  rewards  for  political  activity  went  crowd 
ing  to  the  capitol,  this  man  of  such  extraordinary  self-poise 
and  self-reliance  dismissed  them  by  the  thousand,  remitted 
them  to  their  dwellings,  and  was  the  first  of  our  rulers  for 
many  successive  administrations  to  announce  as  the  guid 
ing  principle  of  his  own,  that  no  man  should  be  disturbed 
in  a  subordinate  office,  so  long  as  he  was  capable,  honest, 
and  faithful,  until  the  end  of  his  term  expired,  and  even 
then  his  claims,  his  merits  should  be  considered  as  fully 
and  as  conscientiously  as  those  of  others  who  might  be  ap- 


GARFIELVS  LIFE  AND  DEA^K."  !&"'" 

plicants  for  the  same  place.  And  if  he  had  done  nothing 
else  in  his  brief  life,  a  moiety  of  which  had  been  devoted 
to  public  service,  he  would  have  left  a  memory  to  the 
American  people  imperishable,  precious,  and  which  no  com 
ing  man  can  eclipse. 

Who  was  this  hero?     The  bells  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  of 
London  speak  with  their  resounding  tongues,  and  the  can 
ons  and  prebendaries  of  the  Cathedral,  at    Liverpool,   are 
telling  to  our  English-speaking  kindred  on  the  other   side 
something  of  the  sorrow  which  is  being  felt  for  our  loss. 
In   the  villages,  in  the  universities,  and  in  the  capital   of 
Germany,  the  name  which  has  been  so   frequently  on  our 
lips,  is  now  pronounced  as  softly  and  as  lovingly  as  in  our 
own  commonwealth.     The  English  court  is   in  mourning, 
the  Spanish  court  is  in  mourning,  while  the  recent  repub 
lic  of  France  sends   to  us,  by  the  mouths  of  its   President, 
its  leaders,  its  statesmen,  its  great  men,  assurances  of  their 
sympathy  and  their  grief.     Even  in  tfie  "mosques  of  Con 
stantinople,  the  Moslems  are  forgetting  to  bend  their  knees 
to  the  setting  sun,  are  forgetting  to  lift  up  their  alleluias  to 
the  Prophet,  and  are  uttering  benisons  for  the  dead  ruler 
of  the  free  people  of  the  United  States.     Was  there  ever, 
since  the  world   begun,  such  another  event  as   this?      No 
distance  so   great,  no  people  so  far  removed,  no  civiliza 
tion  so  alien,  no  religion  so  restricting,  no  partition,  no  ar 
tificial  barrier  of  any  kind,  sufficient  to  restrain  the  whole 
world  from  bending  toward  us,  and  bowing  their  heads  in 
.a  sorrow  that  is  unutterable,  and  craving  for  us  a  deliver 
ance  from  its  dreadful  results,  which  can  only  come  from 
the  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords.     Oh,  if  the  issues  of 
life  aud  death  are  ordained  by  a  blind,  fortuitous  fate,  how 
wretched  are  we  to-day  ! 

But,  thank  God,   they   are  in  the  hands  of  a  benignant 
and  intelligent  Providence,  working  out  by  grand  laws  His 


102  ;  #4/i^V#i,Z)'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


primeval  scheme,  throwing  the  whole  majesty  and  grandeur 
of  His  sublime  nature  into  the  upward  and  onward  progress 
of  our  race.  We  know  that  unless  the  mission  of  our  Re 
public  is  ended,  unless  free  institutions  have  fulfilled  their 
predestined  end,  that  the  God  who  brought  us  into  exist 
ence  will  still  continue  by  His  own  laws,  by  His  own  pur 
poses,  antedating  prehistoric  ages  —  that  he  will  yet  bring 
us  up  to  the  fullness  and  the  roundness  of  a  career  glorious 
in  its  objects,  and  that  the  death  of  General  Garfield  will 
be  the  advent  of  a  new  epoch  and  the  beginning  of  a  new 
era  of  better,  wiser,  farther-reaching,  more  salutary  states 
manship. 

It  is  one  of  the  peculiar  features  of  free  institutions  that 
no  boy,  however  humble  his  birth,  however  narrow  and  con- 
iining  the  circumstances  by  which  he  may  be  surrounded, 
ne^ed  fear  that  there  is  any  insuperable  necessity  for  his 
remaining  in  obscurity.  To  be  able  to  lift  up  one's  eyes 
and  see  the  shining  portal  of  the  Temple  of  Fame  ;  to  be 
able  to  long  for  the  'strength  to  climb  up  to  it,  and  the 
courage  to  enter  it,  constitute,  after  all,  the  best  birthright^ 
and  the  boy  who  has  felt  stirring  within  him  the  yearning 
to  be  something  and  to  do  something,  has  already  half 
conquered  the  world.  And  if  he  act  persistently  and  un- 
deviatingly  up  to  that  aspiration,  turning  neither  to  the 
right  to  listen  to  the  siren  song  of  vice,  nor  to  the  left  to 
satisfy  mere  sordid  or  mercenary  impulses,  but  devotes 
himself  to  a  life  work  of  nobility  and  utility,  and  keeping 
before  him  the  great  maxima  and  the  great  principles  from 
whose  motive  power  men  gather  pluck  to  reach  high  places 
and  do  grand  things  —  before  lie  has  counted  his  half  cen 
tury  he  will  be  lifted  to  the  top,  and  standing  on  the  very 
loftiest  heights  of  possibility  and  opportunity,  turn  anS  ask 
the  world  to  look  at  him  as  the  actual  product  of  free  insti 
tutions,  and  to  behold  iu  his  career  what  may  be  accom- 


QARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  1QS 

plished  by  a  freeman,  with  greater  facility  and  assurance, 
than  in  those  countries  in  which  rank  and  caste,  high 
associations  and  importunate  influences  are  requisite  to  a 
brilliant  service  in  the  halls  of  Parliament  or  Assembly. 

I  would  like  to  be  able  to  tell  you  just  how  it  was,  and 
when  it  was,  that  he  whose  name  I  need  not  mention, 
whose  image  has  melted  into  every  soul,  first  came  to  real 
ize  that  there  was  within  himself  something  that  the  ma 
jority  do  not  feel  throbbing  for  recognition — a  percepti 
bility  and  impression,  ability,  a  capacity  for  the  acquisition 
of  knowledge,  for  the  assimilation  of  truth,  a  perseverance 
of  purpose,  and  willingness  to  deny  himself,  a  readiness  to 
submit  to  any  privation  that  would  only  clothe  and  equip 
him  with  the  mystic  enginery  of  art  and  science,  and  of 
all  the  teachings  of  the  great  and  good,  until  he  could  go 
out  full  and  efficient  and  ready  to  take  his  place  among 
men,  and  to  assert  his  right  to  reputation,  to  become  a 
"  leader  in  the  files  of  time." 

It  is  not  at  close  proximity  between  the  tow-path  of  the 
canal  and  the  Executive  mansion.  Long  as  is  the  physical 
distance  between  Lake  Erie  and  Washington,  the  moral  and 
intellectual  stadia  which  he  had  to  pass  over  were  longer 
still;  and  yet  it  took  but  twenty  years  for  him  to  travel  the 
whole  distance — and  reach  a  place  for  which  he  did  not  in 
trigue  or  bargain,  by  any  mean,  illegitimate  artifice  or  self- 
seeking. 

And  when  you  remember  from  what  low  estate  he  started, 
and  where  he  stood  in  modesty  and  docility  only  a  few 
years  ago,  and  what  he  became  through  the  legitimate  out 
growth  of  his  own  systematic  and  methodical  use  of  those 
functions  and  capacities,  aided,  of  course,  and  fructified  by 
what  he  gained  iroin  contact  with  the  world,  it  is  seen  that, 
given  a  sound  heart,  an  honest  disposition,  not  much  more 
than  ordinary  faculties — that  is,  the  seemingly  ordinary  fac- 


104  GARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

ulties  of  childhood — and  then  by  keeping  at  it  all  the  time; 
by  burning  the  midnight  lamp;  by  the  education  of  «>ne- 
self  to  the  perception  of  the  invisible  ends  of  life,  to 
the  intangible  compensations,  to  things  that  cannot  be 
transmuted  into  gold,  or  place,  or  position,  for  the  time 
being;  by  an  apprenticeship  to  high  ideas;  by  working  up 
to  noble  ideals  little  by  little,  hour  by  hour,  year  by  year, 
and  by  never  turning  aside  from  them,  he  can  at  last  reach 
the  topmost  height — be  a  man  of  mark;  and,  what  is  better 
still,  he  can  do  beneficent  things,  can  by  reason  of  his  posi 
tion,  speak  grand  and  assuring  words  of  statesmanship 
into  the  ear  of  the  universe. 

Twenty  years — think  of  it!  Fatherless  son  of  a  poor 
widow;  laborer;  canal-buy;  chopping  wood  at  twenty-five 
•cents  a  cord;  mowing  down  the  green  grass  of  the  mead 
ows  for  fifty  cents  an  acre;  carpenter — a  rough  carpenter — 
hewing  out  the  green  logs  of  the  forest  to  make  the  1mm- 
>ble  homes  of  the  farmers  in  that  far-off  wilderness;  student 
In  a  district  school;  certified  teacher  of  those  who  had  been 
.his  playmates  and  companions;  scholar,  neophyte  in  col 
lege,  graduate,  professor  of  languages,  president  of  a  col 
lege,  running  through  the  curriculum  of  humanities;  Sena 
tor  in  the  State  Senate;  at  twenty-nine  lieutenant-colonel  of 
a  regiment  of  volunteers,  one  whole  company  of  which  was 
composed  of  students  who  had  sat  under  his  teaching,  and 
were  willing  to  go  out  to  death  with  him,  if  need  be; 
helmsman  of  his  own  boat  through  forty-eight  hours  of 
peril,  when.no  experienced  pilot  could  be  found  to  guide  it 
through  the  rapids  of  a  swollen  river,  to  bear  the  needed 
succor  to  his  beleaguered  camp;  steering  it  with  a  hand  as 
firm  and  an  eye  as  clear  as  though  he  were  sitting  here  in 
the  tranquillity  of  this  sacred  edifice;  driving  a  leader  more 
accomplished  and  perhaps  more  subtle  than  himself  from 
Lis  mountain  fastnesses,  and  winning  the  first  'thrilling, 


GAEFIELD'S  LIFE  AND^  DEATH.  105 

magnetic  victory  of  the  war  for  the  Union;  then  detached 
to  join  General  Rosecrans  as  Chief-of-Staff,  and  acting  with 
him  Nuntil  the  fateful  battle  of  Chickamauga,  and  then, 
when  the  right  wing  of  the  army  under  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  was  pierced  and  disheveled  and  dissipated,  made  his 
way  alone  back  through  fleeing  ranks,  through  brake  and 
briar  and  forest,  for  eight  miles,  until  he  reached  General 
Thomas,  who  was  still  fighting  with  an  unbroken  front 
against  outnumbering  legions,  and  aiding  to  hurl  back  their 
impetuous  assaults  until  with  his  own  hands  he  assisted 
General  Granger  to  give  the  parting  fusilade  of  artillery, 
which  rang  out  triumphantly  and  told  that  the  awful  com 
bat  had  closed  with  night  and  victory,  and  that  new  lustre 
had  been  shed  upon  the  loyal  troops;  then,  at  thirty-one, 
a  major-general;  then  a  representative  for  six  successive 
terms  in  the  lower  house  of  Congress;  then  a  Senator-elect, 
and  then  President  of  the  United  States,  in  the  forty-ninth 
year  of  his  age.  O  beautiful  youth!  O  grand  and  vigor 
ous  manhood! 

Coming  up  from  such  an  origin  to  take  the  coronation 
of  a  simple  oath,  and  stand  upon  a  level  with  kings  and 
emperors  by  the  suffrages  of  a  free  people — by  the  intelli 
gent  suffrages  of  a  free  people — for  the  vote  which  crowned 
him  as  chief  ruler  was  the  aggregate  expression  of  the 
best  conscience  and  intelligence  of  our  Nation — never  be 
fore  did  any  candidate  enter  the  White  House  more  palpa 
bly  and  undeniably  by  the  deliberate  action  and  discrimi 
nating  intelligence  of  the  best  classes  of  American  com 
munities.  Here  is  a  climax  which  surpasses  the  fables  of 
heroes,  the  legends  of  ancient  mythology.  Here  is  an  as 
sent  which  beggars  description  and  impoverishes  language. 

I  challenge  you  who  are  most  conversant  with  the  biog 
raphies  of  the  great  men  of  other  ages  and  latitudes  to 
find  me  a  parallel  with  this  almost  marvelous  rise  to  exal- 


106  GARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

9 

ted  station.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  at,  that  now,  when  h* 
has  suddenly  disappeared  from  the  theatre  of  the  world's 
activities,  that  he  has  suddenly  perished  by  the  stroke  of  a 
reptile — \\homit  would  be  dignifying  to  call  a  imnster?  Is 
it  wonderful  that  now,  when  all  his  acquisitions,  all  his  at 
tainments,  all  his  varied  and  affluent  scholarship,  all  his 
grand  and  rare  traits  of  character,  all  that  he  was  and 
might  have  been,  are  thus  suddenly  blotted  out?  Is  it 
wonderful  that  our  tears  are  flowing  like  rivers  of  water! 
Is  it  wonderful  that  this  loss  causes  such  an  outpouring  of 
inexpressible  pain,  that  when  it  fully  strikes  us  with  its 
overwhelming  force,  in  vain,  in  vain,  almost,  we  call  upon 
our  faith  in  God,  and  ask  Him  as  some  surcease  of  sorrow, 
to  vouchsafe  us  some  medicament  for  this  poignant  woe. 
And  yet,  and  yet,  my  friends,  this  terrible  death  may, 
after  all  be,  we  all  hope,  we  all  trnst,  we  all  would  fain  be 
lieve,  that  it  may  prove  a  great  blessing  to  us,  and  to  the 
generations  yet  to  come. 

•  We  need  this  blessing.  We  need  a  benediction  from 
heaven,  for  "all  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray."  We  none 
of  us  are  entirely  guiltless  in  the  sight  of  the  great  dis 
penser  of  good  and  ill,  of  our  brother's  blood. 

If  we  had  all  been  true,  each  and  every  one  of  us,  high 
and  low,  to  our  duties  of  citizenship  from  our  earliest  youth 
to  the  present  day;  if  we  had  been  lending  our  energies  to  . 
fashion  virile  public  opinion  and  to  mould  robust  public 
sentiment;  if  we  had  not  lent  ourselves  to  augment  the 
rancor  of  parties  and  increased  the  hateful  spirit  of  faction";, 
if  we  had  not  perverted  our  privileges  and  stood  silently  by, 
time  and  again,  acquiescent,  passive,  content  to  witness  the 
elevation  to  power  of  men  simply  because  they  were  glib- 
talkers;  to  see  our  whole  elective  system  surrendered  to  the 
administration  of  "managers"  and  of  "  bosses;"  if  we  had  not 
been  so  long  too  willing  to  see  unworthy  representatives  in 


GARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  107 

Congress;   if  we  had  always  demanded  that  only  delegates 
with   cultivation  and  pure  hands,   of  scholarly  tastes,  num 
who  would  be  capable  of  devising  additional   advantages  in 
our  government,  who  could  not  only  construe  pa-t   laws, 
but   introduce   innovations   by  better   statutes  to    remedy 
deficiencies   in  our  jurisprudence,    and  make  more  homo 
geneous    and  symmetrical   our  civil   polities,  and  beautify, 
and  adorn,  and  enlarge  all  our  institutions  until  they  should 
be  to  their  ultimate  perfections  and  possibilities  of  good,  this 
evil  wfcich  has  befallen  us  would  not,  could  not,  have  hap 
pened;  if  we  had   not  made  idols  of  wood,  and  clay,  and 
brass;  if  we  had  not  been  lured  by  mere  orators  who  possess 
ed  something  of  dramatic  force  and  the  cunning  chicane  to 
please  the  ears  of  the  multitude  on  the  hustings;  if  we  had 
not  stood  silently  by  and  seen  men  working  out  their  self 
ish  schemes,  and  building  before  our  very  eyes  what   is 
called  the  "  machine,"  whose  wheels,  howsoever  well  oiled, 
grated  upon  our  ears;   if  we  had  not  been  subservient  to 
intolerant,   imperious,    dictatorial    politicians,    who  made 
their   combinations  expressly   for  the  purpose  of  putting 
some  one  in  the  chief  seat  of  authority  who  would  promote 
their  personal  greed  and  interest;  if  every  one  had  spoken 
through  the  press  what  ought  to  have  been  said  of  these 
things,  or  had  called  our  fellow-citizens  into  town- meetings 
to  reprobate  pernicious  methods  for  the  proh'table  instruc 
tions  and  admonition  of  such  false  leaders;  if  we  had  sought 
to  exalt  the  standards  of  citizenship,  had   stood  upon  the 
outposts  and  had  cried  aloud  against  our  own   dereliction 
and  degeneracy — this  fell,  foul  deed  would   not  have  oc 
curred.     For  James  A.  Garlield  has  surely  fallen  a  victim 
to    the   hate   and   intolerance   of  a   single   faction,  whose 
heated  denunciations,  falling  upon  the  distempered  brain 
of  that  miserable  dastard   in  the  jail   at  Washington,  im 
pelled  him  to  slay  the  conspicuous  opponent  of  such  meth 
ods  and  practices,  as  surely  as  Henri  Quartre  was  a  martyr 


108  GARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

to  the  Protestant  opposition  to  the  Jesuits,  and  was  slain 
bj  the  fanatical  hand  of  Revaillac. 

Just  as  in  olden  times  another  impious  hand  fired  the 
Temple  of  Ephesus,  that  he  might  through  such  a  confla 
gration  inherit  undying  fiirne.  Is  it  nothing  that  the  great 
and  good  Ruler  has  given  us  such  a  country;  has  made  us 
the  heirs  to  such  a  Constitution  and  laws;  has  bestowed 
upon  us,  through  the  instrumentality  of  our  forefathers, 
such  franchises  and  opportunities;  such  rights  to  happiness, 
both  individual  and  national  ?  Do  we  not  owe  son|ething 
in  return,  to  God  for  what  He  has  made  this  land  ? 

Are  we  to  take  all  we  see  as  matters  of  course  in  our 
daily  life,  such  as  are  dew  and  sunshine  and  starlight,  the 
earlv  and  the  latter  rain?  Are  we  to  look  on  and  ne°-- 

./  o 

ligently  behold  so  many  mischiefs — to  see  great  corporations 
rising  to  overshadow  and  corrupt  legislation,  traversing  our 
land  with  continuous  lines,  and  compelling  the  highways  of 
commerce  to  become  the  mere  agencies  for  speculation  and 
the  amassment  of  colossal  fortunes,  controlling  our  states 
manship,  and  binding  and  loosing  statutes  to  suit  their 
exigencies,  and  raise  no  voice  to  arrest  them?  Do  we  owe 
notl  ing  of  service  and  effort  to  Him  and  to  the  future  to 
rightly  use  our  liberties,  and  restrain  their  use  within 
proper  limits?  Ought  we  not  to  cease  to  be  indifferent  tc 
everything  but  party  names  and  discipline,  and  resist  arid 
overthrow  the  spirit  of  faction? — that,  taught  by  the  terrible 
lesson  of  this  untimely  death,  shocked  by  the  appalling 
shedding  of  this  innocent  blood,  which  seems  to  have  been 
sprinkled  upon  every  door-post  of  every  house  in  the  land, 
that  we  should  become  only  citizens  and  patriots,  straining 
our  utmost  to  fulfill  every  loyal  obligation  and  responsibility  ? 
If  these  solemn  needs  are  apprehended,  these  warning 
lessons  are  appropriated  by  us,  then  our  great  and  good 
President  will  not  have  died  in  vain.  If  they  be  not  learned, 


GARFIFLD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  109 

it  will  be  long  indeed  before  heaven  will  vouchsafe  such 
another  to  adorn  private  life  and  give  brighter  radiance  to 
public  station. 

I  consider  the  life  of  James  A.  Garfield — viewed  either 
from  its  open  or  its  private  standpoint — the  most  perfect 
which  has  been  lived  in  our  century.  I  know  of  no  man 
to-day  in  our  land  who  is  his  equal.  Nor  is  this  a  new 
opinion  of  mine.  It  is  no  fresh  estimate,  beaten  out  by  the 
hand  of  the  destroyer  ;  it  is  no  mere  sentimentality  which 
has  come  with  the  pangs  of  a  crushing  sorrow.  On  more 
than  one  occasion  during  the  last  canvass — I  presume  that, 
without  immodesty,  I  may  say  it — I  had  the  honor  to  address 
some  of  the  largest  audiences  which  gathered  in  this  country. 
Twenty-seven  times  during  last  autumn  I  was  permitted 
to  stand  before  audiences,  the  least  of  which  did  not  num 
ber  less  than  twenty-five  hundred  people,  and  the  burden 
of  all  my  song,  the  theme  of  my  warmest  advocacy,  was  the 
personal  life  and  character  of  the  noble  gentleman  who  was 
the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party.  I  studied  then  the 
campaign  biographies,  in  his  speeches,  in  his  essays,  in  the 
maxims  of  wisdom  which  had  fallen  from  his  lips. 

I  remember  when  I  first  saw  him,  eighteen  years  ago 
this  November,  on  the  platform  of  a  meeting  at  Monument 
Square,  and  heard  him  presented  to  the  people  as  the  "brave 
General  Garfield,  fresh  from  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee." 
I  was  permitted  to  pass  with  him  the  whole  of  the  evening 
on  the  Thursday  in  June  before  he  went  with  Mrs.  Garfield 
to  Long  Branch.  I  knew  how  absolutely  frank  and  sin 
cere  he  was — how  straightforward  and  direct;  what  beau 
tiful  docility  he  united  with  firmness  of  will;  what  balance 
of  judicial  mind  he  had;  that,  although  his  perceptions 
were  usually  quick,  his  meditative  faculties  were  equally  as 
operative,  and  that  the  two  sets  worked  in  perfect  poises; 
how  that  what  he  saw  or  thought  passed  into  the  chamber 


110  GARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH 

of  judgment,  and  was  chrystalized  there  before  it  came  forth 
either  in  word  or  act;  how  that  he  was  full  of  feeling  and 
thought — an  honest  man,  a  Christian  statesman,  a  perfect 
ly  upright  politician.  Some  of  you  may  smile  when  I  give 
such  a  prefix  to  such  absurd  words — Christian  politician, 
Christian  statesman.  Are  they  numerous?  And  yet,  here 
was  a  man  who  never  doubted  the  divine  origin  of  the 
Christian  system,  the  Atonement,  the  vicarious  sacrifice  of 
the  founder,  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  the  existence 
of  a  hereafter,  of  a  future  life,  to  which  he  looked  forward 
always  as  to  the  time  and  place  for  the  future  development 
of  his  own  character. 

lie  turned  aside  from  skepticism,  from  doubts  and  sub 
tleties,  from  materialism,  from  positiveism,  pantheism — be 
lieving  with  all  the  tenacity,  ail  the  persistency  of  his  cul 
tivated  intellect,  in, one  God,  omnipotent  and  omnipresent, 
holding  the  ocean  in  the  hollow  of  His  hand  and  giving  to 
the  stars  their  courses.  When  science  revealed  to  him  dis 
tant  spaces  and  "new  planets,  and  the  myriad,  multiform, 
sentient  life  of  earth,  and  the  stratifications  which  were  be^ 
ing  builded  until  the  globe  became  a  habitat  of  human 
beings,  he  only  deepened  in  his  reverence  for  the  works  of 
God,  and  enlarged  his  comprehension  of  the  laws  of  crea 
tion. 

Mr.  Ma  thews  then  drew  a  graphic  picture  of  the 
student  life  of  the  President,  his  ardent  thirst  for  knowl 
edge,  and  familiarity  with  great  books,  from  Homer  and 
Aristotle  to  Shakspeare,  Bacon,  Burke  and  Tennyson.  He 
quoted  the  opinions  of  Lord  Macaulay  as  to  the  value  of 
learning  even  in  the  subordinates  of  a  civil  service,  and 
said  that  he  had  been  better  accomplished  for  his  grand 
work  than  any  of  his  predecessors. 

He  then  made  a  fervent  appeal  to  his  audience  to  put 
themselves  into  full  correspondence  with  the  spirit  of  the 


GARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND    DEATH.  Ill 

occasion,  saying  that  there  is  darkness  upon  the  land  in 
spite  of  its  sunshine.  No  man  can  tell  what  the  next  day 
may  bring  forth.  The  dropped  curtain  has  upon  it  no  clear 
landscape  of  hope.  Let  us,  with  thanksgiving  for  the  man 
ifold  blessings  of  Heaven — with  humiliation  for  our  own 
shortcomings — trust  that  the  day  of  our  destiny  is  not  over, 
the  star  of  our  fate  not  declined.  I  am  no  pessimist,  no 
alarmist.  We  own  ourselves  citizens  of  a  splendid  nation; 
we  boast  that  our  children  shall  be  heirs  of  a  grand  future; 
we  say  that  ours  is  the  only  real  Republic  that  has  ever  ex 
isted — that  those  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  Italy  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  were  only  phantoms  when  compared  with  our 
greater  and  freer  institutions.  Let  us  see  that  we  do  our 
best  to  preserve  and  perpetuate,  to* adorn  and  magnify  the 
costly  fabric  of  our  liberties.  I  have  already  detained  you 
beyond  the  proprieties  of  this  occasion.  It  remains  for  me 
to  say  only  a  few  words.  I  have  spoken  of  the  man — the 
public  servant — in  his  life  and  work. 

I  come  now  to  speak  of  the  dying  hero.  I  think  that 
when  every  one  comes  to  lie  down  to  die,  the  example 
which  he  lias  left  of  fortitude  will  give  us  greater  calm 
ness  with  which  to  look  the  grim  conqueror  of  all  men  in 
the  face.  Oh  !  what  a  glorious  chamber  that  was  at  Wash 
ington  or  Elberon.  No  complaining,  but  resignation, 
manifested  hour  by  hour,  as  the  feeble  strength  and  flicker 
ing  were  ebbing  away  so  slowly,  so  slowly.  You  remem 
ber  he  asked  the  physicians  when  first  wounded,  "  What 
are  the  chances?"  And  when  Dr.  Bliss  replied,  "  But  one 
in  a  thousand,"  the  President  responded,  u  We'll  take  that 
chance."  The  bitterness  of  death  had  passed  to  him  when 
he  parted  from  his  wife  to  go  into  the  war.  It  is  a  singu 
lar  thing  that  during  all  the  weary  agony  of  his  prolonged 
suffering,  so  little  appreciated,  because  even  the  surgeons 
were  ignorant  of  the  cruel  work  done  by  the  bullet,  and 
that  it  was  imbedded  in  a  net-work  of  nerves,  he  never 


112  OAEFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

once  mentioned  the  name  of  his  assassin,  but  once,  and 
then  only  in  a  single  sentence,  to  express  his  utter  inabili 
ty  to  comprehend  the  provocation  for  Kis  act.  We  think 
of  his  unfailing  courtesy,  of  his  unfaltering  fortitude,  of  his 
patient  heroism — of  the  smile  which  lighted  bis  face  when 
Mrs.  Garfield  came  to  him  as  heroic  as  he  from  her  rapid 
journey  from  Long  Branch  ;  of  his  great  affection  for  her — 
the  last  letter  to  his  mother  when  he  was  almost  on  the 
brink  of  the  beyond — all  these  things  touch  us  too  dgeply 
for  anything  but  tears.  He  has  become  now  the  subject 
for  the  historian.  If  of  foreign  nations,  we  know  what  the 
verdict  of  history  would  be,  for  foreigners  have  already 
published  their  admiration  of  the  symmetry  of  his  char 
acter,  the  lovely  completeness  of  his  private  life. 

And  now  he  is  sleeping  beneath  the  fresh  mold  of  the 
grave  in  Lakeview  Cernetry.  We  have  not  seen  the  slow 
pace  of  the  mournful  procession;  we  have  not  heard  the  soft 
dirge  of  its  march  nor  the  requiem  which  has  spoken  peace 
to  his  slumbers.  We  have  not  stood  by  the  open  sepulchre* 
but  I  am  not  sure  that  many  of  you  have  not  been  sitting 
here,  but  in  spirit  listening  only  to  sobs  of  breaking  hearts 
around  that  memorable  tomb.  I  seern  myself  to  have  been 
listening  for  the  far-off  articulation  of  that  tender  sorrow 
which  friends  and  kindred,  and  children,  wife  and  mother, 
will  pour  out  above  him.  Dead!  All  i  greatness  has 
perished.  His  heart  beats  neither  for  Ins  love  nor  his 
country.  Well  may  we  say,  "  What  shadows  we  are!  what 
shadows  we  pursue!  Yanity  of  vanities;  all  is  vanity!', 
Nay;  not  so.  Such  a  life  is  never  finished.  He  has  added 
to  the  store  of  human  knowledge.  There  is  another  lus 
trous  name  emblazoned  upon  the  rolls  of  fame;  another  grand 
figure  for  monumental  marble  and  bronze;  another  splendid 
example  for  the  young  to  follow,  for  the  older  to  emulate  ; 


QARFIELD'S  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  11£ 

another  great  type  of  courage,  of  heroic  endeavor  and  unen- 
vied  success.  Dead,  but  living!  Living  forevermore  to 
speak  down  the  corridors  of  time  and  call  the  lowly  to  honor,, 
the  brare  to  victory,  the  pure  in  heart  to  the  kingdom  of 
this  present  life,  and  of  the  world  to  come. 
8 


IN  MEMORIAE 


BY  CHAS.  F.  BUCK,  Esq. 
Orator  of  the  day  at  the  Memorial  Service  in  New  Orleans,  La.,  Sept.  26, 1881. 

IT  was  one  of  nature's  holidays.  Calm  and  peaceful,  re- 
splendantly  brilliant,  rose  the  bright  "  monarch  of  day  "  on 
the  2nd  of  July,  1881,  over  a  happy  and  peaceful  country. 
There  had  been  no  "ominous  tidings  of  mishap,"  no 
"  lamentings  heard  in  the  air,"  nor  prophesying  with 
accents  terrible — 

"Of  dire  Combustion  and  confused  events." 

Fifty  millions  of  people  went,  rejoicing,  to  pursue  their 
usual  avocations.  They  compose  the  greatest  nation  known 
in  the  history  of  human  development.  They  are  a  nation 
of  rulers — of  sovereign  equals,  governed  only  by  the  laws 
of  their  own  making.  From  time  to  time  they  choose  a 
worthy  citizen  of  their  number  who  must  put  the  laws  in 
operation  and  see  them  executed.  He  represents  the  exec 
utive  sovereignty  of  the  people.  The  man  exalted  to  that 
station  is  honored  above  all  mortals.  The  sceptre  swayed 
bv  the  chance  of  inheritance  is  a  tinseled  nothing,  not 
worth  the  birth-right  of  the  humblest  American  citizen; 
then  how  much  greater  than  all  is  he,  the  chosen  sovereign 
of  a  nation  of  sovereigns. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  115 

In  the  course  of  the  appointed  time  such  an  one  had 
just  been  singled  out.  There  had  been  a  fierce  contest  of 
opposition  claimants,  embittered  by  memories  of  the  past; 
differences  of  the  present,  fears  and  misgivings  for  the  fn- 
ture.  But  the  will  of  the  majority  is  the  choice  of  all,  and 
the  successful  candidate  of  a  party  becomes  president  of 
the  people.  James  Abram  Garfield,  who  now  lies  still  in 
death,  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  candidate  of  the  Republican 
party,  received  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  for  President 
of  the  United  States  in  the  electoral  college,  and  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1881,  was  installed  in  the  duties  of  his  high 
office.  The  grim  asperities  of  conflict  had  already  smoothed 
their  "  wrinkled  front."  The  new  President  himself  had 
said :  "  If  there  ever  was  a  people  on  the  earth  who  had  rea 
son  to  be  tired  and  weary,  to  the  bone  and  heart,  of  politi 
cal  contention,  the  bitterness  of  party  malice,  and  all  the 
evils  that  can  be  suffered  from  partisanship,  it  is  the  afflicted 
American  people."  And  the  people  were  tired  of  it  all, 
"  to  the  bone  and  heart." 

The  repose  and  quiet  which  followed  the  conquest,  was 
the  verdict  of  universal  acquiescence.  The  chasm  which 
divided  the  people  was  rapidly  closing,  making  a  smooth 
and  common  level  for  all  to  stand  on.  The  soul  of  the 
chief-elect  was  full  of  the  grandeur  of  this  consummation. 
In  his  inaugural  address  he  predicts  that  it  will  surely 
corne.  He  appeals  to  the  people  with  eloquence  of  tender 
entreaty.  "Why  should  it  not  be  now?"  Let  us  recall 
what  he  says  in  this  connection  right  here:  "As  country 
men  we  do  not  now  differ  in  our  judgment  concerning  the 
controversies  of  past  generations,  and  fifty  years  hence  our 
children  will  not  be  divided  in  their  opinions  concerning 
our  controversies.  They  will  surely  bless  their  fathers  and 
their  fathers'  God  that  the  Union  was  preserved,  that 
slavery  was  overthrown,  and  that  both  races  were  made 


118  IN  MEMORIAM. 

equal  before  the  law.  We  may  hasten  or  we  may  retard, 
but  we  cannot  prevent,  final  reconciliation.  It  is  not  pos 
sible  for  us  now  to  make  a  truce  with  time  by  anticipating 
and  accepting  its  inevitable  verdict.  Enterprises  of  high 
est  importance  to  our  moral  and  material  well-being  invite 
us,  and  offer  ample  scope  for  the  employment  of  our  best 
powers.  Let  our  people,  leaving  behind  them  the  battle 
fields  of  dead  issues,  move  forward,  and,  in  the  strength  of 
liberty  and  restored  union,  win  the  grander  victories  of 
peace."  Noble  words;  inspiration  of  the  spirit  of  peace 
which  hovers  over  the  mounds  where  molder  the  bones  of 
slain  freemen.  They  went  straight  to  the  hearts  of  the  peo 
ple,  because  the  people  were  ready  for  the  day  "  of  honora 
ble  reconciliation  and  peace,"  and  the  people  throughout 
the  land  were  happy  and  contented. 

They  accepted  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Garfield  as  the 
completion  of  the  civil  revolution  which  followed  upon  the 
revolution  of  arms,  and  as  the  commencement  of  the  era 
of  perfect  pacification.  The  President  had  proclaimed 
himself  the  apostle  of  this  new  Union,  and  all  honored  him 
for  it  and  all  trusted  him; no,  not  all:  History  is  tragedy; 
the  characters,  peoples,  the  motive  power  of  the  action,  the 
spirits  of  good  and  evil,  out  of  the  conflict  of  which  the 
fate  of  the  actors  evolves  itself.  An  infatuation,  born  of 
the  spirits  of  evil,  which  destroy  and  build  not  up,  pos 
sesses  the  brain  and  faculties  of  a  being  of  flesh  and  blood 
like  ourselves,  with  feet  to  walk  upon,  erect,  in  the  image 
of  God — it  sounds  like  blasphemy  to  say  so — and  arms 
and  hands  to  do  his  wicked  will — an  infatuation  to  kill  the 
President  of  the  United  States  in  times  of  perfect  peace. 
He  follows  the  doomed  man  like  his  destiny.  He  is  dia 
bolical,  cold  and  relentless  as  fate.  He  sees  his  victim  in 
the  peace  of  his  home  where  he  is  happy,  making  others 
happy;  the  sight  of  it  for  the  moment  turns  him  from 
his  purpose.  Sophistry  of  the  fiend!  He  is  toying  with 


IN  MEMORIAM.  117 

his  prey.  He  relaxes  not  bis  terrible  design.  He  only  de 
fers  its  execution.  He  sees  the  doomed  man  at  his  devo 
tions  in  the  house  of  God,  and  thinks  lie  will  do  it  there. 
But  no,  the  hour  had  not  yet  come.  The  dark  shadow  of 
destiny  lurked,  but  struck  not;  but  it  never  wavered  in  its 
purpose.  The  day  came.  It  was  decreed  in  heaven. 

The  mortal  part  of  James  A.  Garfield  was  doomed  to 
martyrdom  and  death.  Two  acts  in  the  trilogy  of  the  na 
tion's  trials  had  been  concluded.  The  first — the  conflict  of 
blood — ended  with  the  deatli  of  Abraham  Lincoln;  the  sec 
ond — the  strife  of  the  passions — closed  on  the  inauguration 
of  Garfield;  the  third — the  expiation — begins  with  the  sacri 
fice  of  the  Apostle  of  Peace,  whose  soul  had  become  the  in 
carnation  of  the  spirit  of  a  better  future.  "  The  stars  had 
said  it."  Twice  the  angels  of  mercy  palsied  the  murderous 
hand;  twice  the  conscious  power  of  innocent  and  noble  man 
hood  awed  the  coward  from  his  aim.  But  it  was  not  to  be. 
A  third  time  the  spirits  of  evil  move  their  wicked  instru 
ment  to  his  dark  design.  The  victim  is  wholly  uncenscious 
of  the  shadow  at  his  side.  His  soul  is  elated  with  the  joy 
of  a  supreme  happiness.  He  has  rendered  well  the  first 
duties  of  his  high  call.  The  seeds  of  a  harvest  of  peace  and 
plenty  had  been  sown.  Gartield  felt  himself  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  a  happy  and  united  people. 

He  surveys  his  work  and  sees  that  it  is  good,  and  rejoices 
in  it.  He  seeks  respite  from  his  labors;  the  father  and  the 
husband  claim  their  natural  due.  lie  is  on  his  way  from 
the  Halls  of  Power  to  enjoy  his  peace  in  the  shrine  of  do 
mestic  love.  At  the  fatal  railway  station,  the  cares  of  Gov 
ernment  behind  him,  the  consciousness  of  duty  well  done 
with  him,  the  prospect  of  naught  but  what  is  good  and 
beautiful  to  him,  the  President  of  the  United  States  had 
reached  the  height  of  human  happiness  and  glory. 

"  Alas  !  the  pods  oft  grudg  >  what  they  have  given 
And  ne'er  unmixed  with  grief  has  heaven 
It's  joys  on  mortals  shed," 


118  IN  MEMORIAM. 

In  the  moment  of  this  supreme  consummation  of  the 
toils  of  a  life,  the  dark  shadow  of  evil  at  his  side  became 
the  avenging  Nemesis  of  Fate,  jealous  of  the  happiness  of 
men.  The  "  unexpected"  happened.  Out  of  the  clear 
sky  of  that  bright  and  peaceful  2d  of  July,  fell  the  thunder 
bolt.  The  assassin-instrument  fulfilled  his  awful  mission. 

By  noon  on  that  ever  memorable  day  the  lightning  mes 
senger  had  spread  the  sad  news  over  the  civilized  world. 
The  President  of  the  United  States  has  been  shot  !  Con 
sternation  filled  the  hearts  of  men  and  pallor  blanched  their 
cheeks.  Was  it  treason,  was  it  conspiracy,  was  it  domestic 
broil  ?  Thank  God,  no  !  It  was  the  act  of  a  madman  ; 
and  by  its  fruits  we  shall  know  it  is  the  decree  of  a  Provi 
dence,  working  out  after  its  own  merciful  manner  the  destiny 
of  nations.  "  The  blood  of  the  martyr  is  the  seed  of  the 
Church."  "On  the  drenched  graves  of  the  battle-fields 
bloom  the  attributes  of  a  great  and  free  people." 

Death  was  not  instantaneous;  the  victim  lingered  between 
life  and  death  for  78  long  and  painful  days.  Let  us  draw  a 
veil  over  that  weary  struggle.  It  almost  made  one  "  waver 
in  his  faith"  that  the  prayers  of  a  nation  availed  naught; 
that  fortitude,  and  patience,  and  resignation  availed  naught; 
that  love  and  devotion  availed  naught.  Agony  and  suffer 
ing  were  not  even  spared ;  yea,  they  seemed  to  overfill  the 
fullest  measure  of  woe  that  human  flesh  can  bear.  It 
shrunk  and  wasted  from  day  to  day,  but  the  spirit  kept  its 
throne  in  all  the  grandeur  of  divine  descent.  "  I  cannot 
understand  how  I  am  so  weak  when  I  look  so  well."  It 
continued  to  waste  and  waste  away  under  the  very  hands 
of  ministering  love,  till  nothing  remained  but  the  coarse 
outer  frame  of  "  mortal  coil  "  through  which  flowed  no 
longer  blood  enough  to  warm  the  heart  within;  then  the 
spirit  took  its  flight,  and  the  sacrifice  was  complete.  The 
President  was  dead — dead  by  the  assassin's  bullet — and  the 


IN  MEMOBIAM.  119 

Nation  is  in  tears!  Sorrow  for  the  dead  is  hallowed  by 
sympathy  with  the  living;  a  loving  husband,  a  noble  father, 
a  faithful  son,  lies  in  death,  lost  to  his  dear  ones,  because  he 
was  President  of  the  United  States!  That  is  the  crime  for 
which  he  died.  Justice  of  Destiny,  pardon  us  in  our 
ignorance  if  we  understand  not  the  fitness  of  thy  decree? 
and  the  people  feel  that  he  died  for  them,  and  so  they 
mourn  and  honor  him  and  make  amends  to  his  bereft. 

James  j^bram  Garn'eld  was  an  extraordinary  man  of  ex 
traordinary  career,  and — fate,  though  cruel,  remained  true 
to  him  to  the  last — extraordinary  in  his  death.  Heroes 
have  lived  and  died  in  all  ages;  great  and  good  men  have 
gone  before,  whose  work  still  abides  and  bears  fruit;  ex 
celling  genius  and  intellect  have  reared  pre-eminent  and 
lasting  monuments  ere  this,  but  the  annals  of  recorded  time 
furnish  no  parallel  so  comprehensive,  so  rounded  and  com 
plete,  as  the  life  and  death  of  President  Garfield.  Poets 
will  delight  to  exalt,  and  statesmen,  historians  and  philos 
ophers  pause  to  moralize  on  this  singular  life  long  after  the 
generation  which  has  witnessed  his  death  shall  have  passed 
away.  Garfield's  life  is  the  epitome  of  the  struggle  of 
mankind. 

He  came  into  the  world  with  nothing  but  the  privileges 
and  attributes  which  he  brought  from  his  Creator.  He 
left  it  at  the  topmost  round  of  human  glory— a  character 
moulded  to  perfection  in  the  school  of  adversity,  through 
which  he  attained  his  eminence. 

It  becomes  a  part  of  my  task,  even  at  the  risk  of  wearying 
you,  not,  I  hope,  by  the  subject,  but  I  fear  by  my  inability 
to  do  it  justice,  to  review  as  briefly  as  I  can  the  main  in 
cidents  in  the  life  and  services  of  the  honored  dead  to  whose 
mortal  remains  we  are  now  offering  the  last  sad  tribute  of 
recognition  and  respect. 

James  Abram  Gartield  was  born  on  the  19th  day  of  Decem- 


120  IN  MEMORIAM. 

her,  1831,  in  the  township  of  Orange,Cnyahoga  county,  north 
eastern  Ohio.  His  father,  Abram  Garfield,  bought  eighty 
acres  of  uncleared  land  in  the  midst  of  a  forest,  miles  away 
from  the  habitations  of  men.  On  this  he  erected  a  log  hut, 
about  twenty  by  thirty  feet,  of  the  most  primitive  sim 
plicity.  Such  was  the  birthplace  of  the  President  whoso 
death  the  people  mourn  to-day,  whose  memory  is  honored 
by  the  world.  The  family  consisted  of  six — the  parents  and 
four  children.  When  James  was  two  years  old,*  the  father 
died,  and  left  the  mother  with  four  orphaned  children,  the 
oldest  of  whom,  Thomas,  was  about  nine  years  old.  The 
80  acres  of  land  had  not  been  paid  for  in  full,  and  the 
mother  sold  50  to  get  out  of  debt.  This  was  the  beginning. 
It  is  as  memorable  for  the  sacrifice  which  turned  it  onward 
and  upward  as  for  its  lowliness.  The  widow  knew  privation 
and  poverty  were  her  lot  and  the  lot  of  her  elder  children. 
Eliza  Ballon,  still  living,  mother  of  Garfield,  is  of  the  family 
of  a  heroic  and  gifted  Huguenot,  who  fled  from  France  after 
the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  Her  love  and  her 
hopes  centered  on  her  youngest  son.  He,  at  least,  shall  be 
a  man  among  citizen-men.  He  must  be  lifted  out  of  the 
stagnation  of  isolated  life  to  a  sphere  of  action  where  prizes 
are  gained  and  victories  achieved.  The  elder  brother  gave 
himself  up'to  this  sweet  fancy  and  offered  himself,  that  James 
might  go  forward.  This  was  the  sacrifice.  Cheerfully  he 
followed  his  humble  lot;  he  was  content  to  be  a  tailor,  a 
hewer  of  wood  and  a  drawer  of  water,  if  only  his  young 
brother  could  be  fitted  for  a  better  destiny. 

That  is  the  most  instructive  period  of  the  deceased's  ca 
reer,  which  commenced  when  his  brother  led  him  by  the 
hand  to  the  country  school,  and  ended  when  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five  years  he  graduated  at  Williams  College.  He 
worked  his  way  through  poverty  and  privation,  but- the  end 
was  ever  clear  to  his  mind.  The  struggles  of  to-day  gave 


72V  MEMORIAM.  121 

momentum  to  the  effort  of  to-morrow;  "  character  is  a  per 
fectly  educated  will,"  some  one  has  said.  Up  to  the  age 
of  16  or  17  years,  Garfield  showed  nothing  extraordinary  in 
his  being,  except  that  independence  and  individuality  of 
will,  without  which  no  one  ever  became  great.  But  his 
application  had  been  desultory  and  his  pursuits  un 
steady. 

A  strange  fancy  possessed  him  to  adopt  a  seafaring  life. 
It  must  have  been  the  outgrowth  of  that  indefinite  yearn 
ing  which  compels  great  souls  in  that  transition  struggle 
from  the  vagaries  of  youth  to  the  concentration  of  their 
faculties  on  some  settled  purpose.  It  ended  by  him  be 
coming  a  canal-boat  driver,  of  which  he  was  cured  by  an 
accident  which  so  nearly  cost  him  his  life  that  his  escape 
seemed  a  miracle  to  him.  He  returned  to  his  mother, 
whom  he  found  in  the  silence  of  the  night  offering  prayers 
by  the  fire-light  for  her  wandering  son.  From  that  mo 
ment  his  character  was  formed,  his  "  will  was  perfectly  ed 
ucated."  He  knew  exactly  what  he  wanted,  and  to  resolve 
was  to  succeed.  He  set  his  heart  on  graduating  in  an 
Eastern  college.  He  believed  in  thorough  education  as  a 
great  civilizer  of  nations  and  the  maker  of  men.  He  had 
heard  and  read  that  Wellington  said  the  battle  of  Waterloo 
was  planned  in  the  shades  of  Eaton  College.  The  reasons  he 
gave  for  selecting  an  Eastern  college  are  characteristic. 
"  Having  always  lived  in  the  West,  I  think  it  will  make  me 
more  liberal  both  in  my  religious  and  general  views  and 
sentiments  to  go  into  a  new  circle  where  I  shall  be  under 
new  influences."  How  he  paid  his  way  is  known  to  all, 
partly  by  aid  of  kind  friends,  partly  by  the  earnings  of  his 
labor  at  odd  hours,  and  serving  as  janitor  at  the  College. 

In  1856,  after  his  graduation,  he  became  teacher  of  Latin 
and  Greek  at  Hiram  Institute.  He  soon  became  principal^ 
and  while  so  occupied  in  1858,  married  the  noble  woman 


122  IN  MEMORIAM. 

who  is  to-day  the  Nation's  widow  ;  all  her  greatness  and 
glory  and  happiness  shrunk  into  the  cold  and  withered 
form  of  a  murdered  husband.  At  Hiram  Institute,  Gar- 
field  laid  the  foundation  for  that  oratory,  which  gave  him 
such  readiness  and  command  on  all  occasions.  He  lectured 
to  the  school  extemporaneously,  several  times  every  week  on 
history,  literary  or  scientific  subjects.  Some  time  before 
this,  he  had  written  to  a  brother  teacher,  "  Tell  me,  Burke, 
do  you  not  feel  a  spirit  stirring  within  you  that  longs  to 
know,  to  do  and  to  dare;  to  hold  converse  with  the  great 
world  of  thought,  and  hold  before  you  some  high  and  noble 
object  to  which  the  vigor  of  your  mind  and  the  strength 
of  your  arm  may  be  given?  Do  you  not  have  longings 
such  as  these  which  you  breathe  to  no  one,  and  which  you 
feel  must  be  heeded  or  you  will  pass  through  life  unsatis 
fied  and  regretful?  I  am  sure  you  have  these,  and  they 
will  forever  cling  around  your  heart,  until  you  obey  their 
mandate.  They  are  the  voices  of  that  nature  which  God 
has  given  you,  and  which,  when  obeyed,  will  bless  you  and 
your  fellow-men." 

A  man  so  gifted  by  nature  and  so  perfected  by  study 
and  reflection  could  not  content  himself  with  the  profes 
sor's  chair.  The  opening  ambition  of  his  life  was  accom 
plished;  he  was  armed  and  equipped  for  the  real  struggle 
in  which  honor  and  distinction  are  won.  This  second 
period  of  his  life  he  entered  with  an  even  chance,  and  soon 
distanced  competition. 

In  1859  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  ot 
Ohio.  When  Lincoln's  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  men 
was  read,  in  the  midst  of  clamor  and  confusion,  he  jumped 
to  his  feet  and  moved  that  twenty  thousand  troops  and  three 
millions  of  dollars  be  voted  as  the  quota  of  Ohio.  I  refer 
to  this  to  show  a  characteristic  of  his  mind,  the  faculty 
to  see  and  do  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time,  which  ia> 


IN  MEMORIAM.  123 

genius.  He  rose  with  every  occasion,  and  mastered  the  sit 
uation  at  every  turn.  While  preparing  for  his  departure 
with  his  regiment  he  writes:  "  I  have  had  a  curious  inter 
est  in  watching  the  process,  in  my  own  mind,  by  which  the 
fabric  of  my  life  is  being  demolished  and  reconstructed,  to 
meet  the  new  condition  of  affairs." 

His  military  career  was  brief  but  brilliant.  He  rose 
rapidly  to  the  rank  of  Major-General.  He  had  but  few 
opportunities  of  action,  but  whatever  he  did  was  done  with 
the  clearness  of  precision  and  self-reliance  of  the  firm 
leader.  There  was  inspiration  in  everything  he  touched. 
The  mind's  perception  was  clear  and  penetrating;  the  action 
that  followed  overwhelming  and  complete. 

In  1863,  while  on  duty  with  the  armies  of  the  North,  he 
was  elected  to  Congress  by  the  Nineteenth  District  of 
Ohio.  He  did  not  leave  the  army  until  satisfied  by  the 
assurances  of  superior  officers  and  the  request  of  President 
Lincoln  that  he  could  do  so  with  honor. 

On  the  4th  of  December,  1863,  he  took  his  seat  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  32  years  old,  the  youngest  mem 
ber  of  the  House — as  he  had  been  the  youngest  general  in 
the  army,  and  the  youngest  member  of  the  Ohio  Legislature 
— after  struggling  twenty-five  years  of  his  life  to  gain  an 
even  start  with  his  fellow-men. 

The  history  of  his  congressional  life  is  beyond  the  scope 
of  this  occasion.  Nor  will  I  attempt  to  describe  his  ora 
tory.  In  this  generation,  when  perhaps  hundreds  of  thou 
sands  are  living  who  have  felt  the  power  of  his  mind  as  it 
flowed  a  living  current  from  his  own  lips,  it  would  be 
folly  on  my  part  to  repeat  at  second-hand  the  traditions  of 
eye-witnesses.  This  I  know,  that  clearness  and  precision 
and  firmness  never  forsook  him;  that  he  acquired  a  confi 
dence  in  his  own  judgment,  which  he  always  followed,  not 
because  he  could  not  believe  himself  to  be  wrong,  but  be- 


124  IN  MEMORIAM. 

cause  he  made  it  a  canon  of  his  life's  faith  to  please  his 
own  conscience  above  all  other  things  or  persons. 

During  all  this  time  in  Congress  he  was  an  advocate  and 
leader  to  that  policy  of  reconstruction  of  the  Republican 
party,  the  scope  and  effect  of  which  are  well  known.  In 
the  heat  of  discussion  and  the  passion  of  reports,  sharp  and 
stinging  words  might  sometimes  cross  his  lips;  but  at  the 
bottom  of  all  he  said  or  did  was  a  stratum  of  justice  and 
the  image  of  liberty  and  equal  rights.  Uncompromising 
in  his  fealty  to  republican  ideas,  he  never  lost  an  opportu 
nity  to  draw  his  hearers  to  the  beauty  of  peace  and  the 
promise  of  reconciliation. 

In  1875,  during  a  bitter  discussion  on  a  motion  to  restore 
Jefferson  Davis  to  the  right  of  citizenship,  he  said: 

"Mr.  Speaker,  I  close  as  I  began.  Toward  those  men 
who  gallantly  fought  us  on  the  field,  I  cherish  the  kindest 
feelings.  I  feel  a  sincere  reverence  for  the  soldierly  quali 
ties  they  displayed  on  many  a  well-fought  battle-field.  I 
hope  the  day  will  come  when  their -swords  and  ours  will  be 
crossed  over  many  a  doorway  of  our  children,  who  will 
remember  the  glory  of  their  ancestors  with  pride.  The 
high  qualities  displayed  in  that  conflict  now  belong  to  the 
whole  Nation. 

"  Let  them  be  consecrated  to  the  Union,  and  its  future 
peace  and  glory.  I  shall  hail  that  consecration  as  a  pledge 
and  symbol  of  our  perpetuity." 

PAYING    BONDS    IN    GREENBACKS. 

Let  one  utterance  suffice  to  illustrate  the  strength  of  his 
convictions  on  this  subject.  He  had  been  absent  in  Europe. 
The  Republican  party  of  Ohio  had  been  swept  into  "  the 
greenback  current,"  and  had  adopted  a  platform  looking  to 
the  payment  of  bonds  in  greenbacks.  He  was  told  that 
there  was  no  stemming  the  torrent.  An  indiscreet  word 


IN  ME  MO  El  AM.  125 

might  cost  him  the  nomination.  He  returned  to  Ohio, 
attended  a  reception  and  was  called  upon  to  make  a  speech 
— and  he  said: 

"Much  as  lvalue  your  opinions,  I  here  denounce  this 
theory  that  has  worked  its  way  into  this  State  as  dishonest, 
unwise  and  unpatriotic;  and  if  I  were  offered  a  nomination 
and  election  for  my  natural  life,  from  this  district,  on  this 
platform,  I  should  spurn  it.  If  you  should  ever  raise  the 
question  of  re-nominating  me,  let  it  be  understood." 

One  word  more  on  Garfield's  relations  to  the  great  ques 
tions  of  legislation  which  engaged  the  attention  of  Congress. 
I  would  not  be  just  to  the  memory  of  the  dead  if  I  did  not 
recall  his  position  on  the  great  financial  problems.  From 
the  moment  he  entered  Congress,  he  foresaw  the  diffi 
culties  which  were  likely  to  come  and  he  set  himself  to  work 
to  master  the  subject  in  advance.  He  reduced  it  to  the 
simplicity  of  maxims:  Pay  your  honest  debts  with  honest 
money;  paper  money  you  may  issue,  but  let  your  paper  dol 
lar  be  a  certificate  of  actual  value,  convertible  at  the  pleasure 
of  the  holder  into  a  fixed  amount  of  'royal  coin.'  'Fiat* 
paper  money  is  a  delusion  and  a  snare;  the  more  you  issue 
the  more  you  need,  because  the  more  there  is  of  it  the  more 
worthless  it  gets.  You  can  have  my  services  only  on  the 
ground  of  the  honest  payment  of  this  debt  and  these  bonds, 
in  coin,  according  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  contract." 

In  person  the  deceased  is  described  as  a  model  of  perfect 
manhood.  Of  commanding  stature  and  energ.tic  mien, 
strong  in  repose,  vehement  in  action  ;  his  moral  nature  was 
lofty  a*  his  intellect  was  grand.  The  grasp  of  his  hand 
was  strong  and  his  heart  was  warm.  His  domestic  life  was 
pure  and  holy.  He  revered  his  mother  with  the  devotion 
of  a  faith;  he  loved  her,  not  as  a  child  loves  the  parents,  but 
the  parents  the  child,  for  in  the  course  of  years  he  had  be 
come  the  stronger  and  she  was  his  care  as  he  had  been  hers. 


126  IN  MEMORIAM. 

His  household  was  simplicity  and  faith  and  confidence  and 
love.  With  small  as  with  great  things  he  carries  the 
magnetism  of  genius  and  the  presence  of  inspiration.  It 
is  his  which  has  electrified  the  people  of  his  country.  This 
universal  outpouring  of  sympathy  and  mourning,  this  grief 
so  deep,  so  real,  that  men  feel  it  but  speak  it  not;  this 
spontaneous  consecration  in  fifty  million  human  hearts  to  a 
fame,  and  a  love,  and  a  glory  hallowed  and  undying;  is 
it  a  false  sentiment,  a  fancy  of  the  moment  ?  No,  it  is  real, 
as  it  will  be  everlasting.  It  comes  not  from  us  alone,  it 
springs  from  our  hearts  in  response  to  the  divinity  that 
rediates  from  the  manifestations  of  a  soul  grand  in  all  the 
attributes  which  make  man  Godlike. 

Ilis  strange,  eventful  life,  with  its  struggles,  its  purities, 
its  devotion,  its  success  and  its  sacrifice,  is  a  national  pos 
session  and  a  national  heritage.  May  its  teachings  be  also 
a  national  blessing. 

It  remains  for  us  to  make  it  so.  The  President  died  be 
cause  his  mission  was  Peace.  Let  the  object  of  the  assassin 
be  thwarted.  By  the  memory  of  *your  sacred  dead,  conse- 
cnite  yourselves  to  that  Peace  which  he  promised — the  new 
Union  which  he  foresaw — the  new  destiny  of  a  re-united 
people.  And  when  it  is  attained  let  the  Nation  rear  a 
monument  to  Harmony  and  Concord,  and  on  it  inscribe  in 
letters  of  everlasting  gold,  "  Sprung  from  the  blood  of  the 
predestined  James  Abram  Garfield,  Martyr  President." 
Accursed  be  the  generation  that  forgets  the  sacrifice;  this 
is  the  sentence  pronounced  by  the  Justice  of  his  country 
on  his  assassination. 


"THE  MAN  OF  HIS  TIME. 


BY  PHILLIPS  BROOKS,  D.D. 
Dellyered  In  Trinity  Church,  Boston,  Sept  25, 188L 

THE  events,  thoughts  and  recollections  of  the  time  are 
those  which  we  have  never  before  brought  into  our  church; 
they  have  given  a  color  and  tone  to  our  service  that  is 
wholly  unique.  In  every  household  that  is  closely  united 
there  will  always  be  some  days  that  stand  apart  in  its  his 
tory;  there  will  be  days  that  never  came  before,  and  that 
will  never  come  again.  If  the  Nation  be  a  household,  as 
it  is,  so  there  will  be  days  for  it  also  that  will  stand  abso 
lutely  apart. 

It  is  impossible  now  that  one  should  not  feel  the  senti 
ments,  the  thoughts,  the  mingling  of  intense  sadness  with 
the  consciousness  of  nobleness  that  has  filled  these  last 
davs.  All  that  we  can  do  to-day  is  to  come  together  to  talk 
with  one  another  of  the  common  grief,  to  think  together  of 
the  man  whom  God  has  called  to  Himself,  and  to  look  for 
ward  to  the  mercy  that  He  has  for  all.  . 

The  President  of  the  United  States  is  dead  at  the  hand 
of  an  assassin — not  by  one  sudden  blow,  but  after  long 
weeks  of  watching  and  of  painful  alternations  of  hope  and 
despair.  He  is  gone;  his  death  is  something  new  in  the 
history  of  America;  it  stands  by  itself;  let  us  think  of  it 

(127) 


128  THE  MAN  OF  HIS   TIME. 

as  loving  onr  President  who  is  gone  and  God  who  has  thus 
manifested  Himself  to  him  and  to  us.  He  has  been  and 
always  will  be  ours;  he  is  ours  in  a  peculiar  sense;  we 
have  for  him  a  special  feeling  of  familiarity.  His  life  cov 
ered  the  last  half  century,  and  as  we  look  back  over  those 
fifty  years,  I  think  we  all  feel  that  there  have  been  no  fifty 
years  in  the  history  of  our  country  or  of  the  world  in 
which  it  has  been  such  a  privilege  to  live.  The  best  char 
acteristics  of  men  have  been  called  forth;  the  world  has 
never  seemed  to  have  so  noble  a  future  before  it;  in  attain 
ing  that  future  the  life  that  has  just  ended  here  has  had  no 
inconspicuous  part. 

We  cannot  but  let  our  minds  run  back,  this  morning, 
over  the  life  of  President  Garfield.  When  he  reached 
active  manhood  the  national  crime  of  slavery  was  just 
beginning  to  emerge  into  the  necessary  activity  by  which  it 
was  to  be  crushed  out.  He  was  on  the  side  of  the  anti- 
slavery  cause.  He  lived  just  too  late  to  be- one  of  those 
noble  men  who,  when  that  cause  seemed  hopeless,  lifted  up 
their  voices  and  declared  this  country  must  be  free.  In  the 
year  in  which  the  war  broke  out  he  was  30  years  old;  it  was 
impossible  that  such  a  man  should  not  be  in  the  service  of 
his  country.  He  was  a  brave  soldier  who  left  the  army  to 
strengthen  it  from  the  floor  of  Congress.  He  was  identified 
with  the  drafts,  with  the  emancipation  of  the  black  men, 
with  the  opinion  that  the  liberated  slave  must  be  a  citizen. 
By-and-by,  when  the  war  was  stopped,  there  came  other 
associations.  The  South  was  to  be  educated  and  reconciled, 
the  financial  obligations  of  the  country  were  to  be  honored 
and  redeemed.  There  has  been  no  large  cause  in  all  the 
fifteen  years  since  the  war  in  which  the  heart  of  Garfield 
was  not  interested,  and  for  the  support  of  which  his  voice 
was  not  heard.  We  all  know  the  story  of  his  election,  the 
history  of  his  short  administration,  the  dreadful  manner  of 
his  death.  What  shall  we  say  of  his  life  and  character? 


THE  MAN  OF  HIS   TIME.  129 

In  the  first  place,  we  cannot  but  remember  how  truly  he 
was  a  man  of  his  time.  He  recognized  what  was  the  next 
thing  to  be  done.  His  recognition  of  what  God  was  doing, 
and,  therefore,  of  what  a  servant  of  God  should  be  doing, 
is  a  striking  feature  in  his  history.  Faithful  to  human 
freedom,  loyal  to  the  Union,  faithful  to  the  honesty  of  the 
country,  insistent  upon  the  purity  of  the  Government,  and 
determined  that  it -should  not  be  in  the  interest  of  a  few 
but  in  that  of  the  whole  people — standing  before  all  these 
issues,  he  quailed  before  none  of  them.  With  that  record 
he  stands  in  history  glorified,  indeed,  by  the  death  he  has 
died,  but  having  his  real  claim  to  fame  in  his  eloquent, 
earnest,  unswerving  allegiance  through  all  his  life  to  these 
causes. 

It  is  necessary  that  we  should  look  not  simply  at  this 
public  life,  but  at  the  personal  characteristics  of  the  man. 
Think  how  the  people  have  been  studying  him ;  think  how 
through  the  closed  door  of  his  sick  chamber  they  have  stud 
ied  him  and  understood  him  as  scarcely  anybody  else  has 
been  understood.  His  intellectual  life  seems  to  have  been 
singularly  interesting.  If  there  has  been  in  the  country 
any  intellectual  history  that  is  thoroughly  symmetrical  it 
is  this.  He  combined  to  a  marvelous  degree  the  practical 
and  the  philosophical. 

There  has  been  no  man  of  affairs  who  so  understood  the 
philosophy  underlying  the  things  that  lay  about  him.  That 
is  the  secret  of  the  power  that  made  his  intellectual  life 
strong  in  the  nation.  There  is  also  something  beautiful 
about  his  moral  life.  He  was  not  spared  from  temptation, 
but  he  has  shown  that  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  live  among 
us  and  be  preserved  from  yielding  to  temptation.  In  the 
life  of  Garfield  there  was  a  positive  devotion  that  saved  him 
from  those  temptations  under  which  his  brethren,  with 
broken  reputations,  were  tumbling  about  him. 
9 


130  THE  MAN  OF  HIS   TIME. 

Then  there  came  his  social  nature.  It  was  genuine;  it 
was  the  unsought  utterance  of  his  love.  If  he  had  gone  on 
to  old  age  he  would  always  have  gathered  others  around 
him  to  receive  from  him  lessons  of  the  past.  He  had  a 
cordial  sympathy  with  humanit^y,  which  showed  itself  in  a 
friendly  way  to  those  who  came  in  contact  with  him,  and 
so  those  who  were  near  him  most  loved  him  most.  This  is 
the  highest  eulogy  of  a  man  who  led  both  a  public  and  a 
private  life. 

Around  him  was  a  life  of  culture  and  refinement.  He 
carried  into  the  field  with  him  a  copy  of  Horace;  he  stole 
away  from  dull  and  unimportant  debates  in  Congress  into 
the  library  to  dip  into  the  rich  wells  of  English  literature. 
That  meant  enlargement  and  refinement  of  life.  His 
thought  was  as  fine  as  a  woman's  and  as  strong  as  that  of  a 
man.  He  was  shaping  the  destiny  of  the  Nation  and  of 
the  world;  his  reputation,  therefore,  is  not  hard  to  account 
for. 

And  there  is  something  else — the  deep  religiousness  of 
President  Garfield,  with  a  profound  honor  for  God,  with  a 
sincere  love  for  Jesus  Christ.  Having  united  himself  early 
in  life  with  one  of  the  simplest  and  smallest,  but  one  of 
the  most  earnest  and  true  religious  denominations  in  our 
land,  of  it  he  lived  an  obedient  servant  of  Jesus  Christ. 
That  religion  was  always  present  with  him.  The  man  who 
loved  God  and  knew  God  has  gone  to  God.  These  are  char 
acteristics  of  him;  as  we  run  over  them  we  see  they  are  not 
those  of  brilliant  deeds.  No  man  can  tell  when  he  began 
to  be  famous — when  the  country  began  to  trust  him  as  it 
did.  Is  there  nothing  noble  in  a  reputation  like  this,  stand 
ing  before  the  world,  made  up  of  characteristics  of  admi 
rable  humanity — a  reputation  that  is  a  combination  in  their 
mightiest  proportion  of  those  things  which  all  true  men 
strive  for?  He  trusted  and  believed  in  hie  countrymen  and 


THE  MAN  OF  HIS   TIME.  131 

in  the  world ;  there  was  shown  the  great  power  that  enabled 
him  to  use  all  the  characteristics  of  that  life  that  has  just 
been  ended. 

If  one  could  stand  now  before  the  }roung  men  of  Ameri 
ca — those  of  the  country  rich  only  in  their  intellectual  and 
moral  attainments  and  possibilities,  those  of  the  cities  par 
alyzed  by  the  material  riches  they  have  not  won — what 
would  one  want  to  put  before  them  but  the  character  of 
James  A.  Garfield  ?  Let  them  know  that  in  this  Nation  in 
which  God  has  set  their  lives  any  man  may  run  the  road  of 
truth  and  honor.  Let  them  know  from  this  life  that  it  is 
possible  to  live  in  public  life  ar\d  to  be  honest;  that  where 
subtlety  is  futile,  simplicity  is  great;  that  the  country  has 
called  a  straightforward  man  to  its  Presidential  chair. 
Every  man  may  be  true,  brave,  earnest  and  simple;  his 
country  will  honor  him,  and  if  it  does  not  make  him  Pres 
ident,  his  influence  will  be  felt  through  all  time  and  will  be 
for  lasting  good. 

I  have  talked  of  Mr.  Garfield  as  if  he  had  passed  away 
from  us  by  some  common  fate.  The  dreadful  tragedy 'that 
has  closed  that  life,  has  caused  a  revelation  of  his  character 
that  otherwise  might  have  been  unseen  except  by  the  eye 
of  God.  The  Nation  grows  strong  by  great  sorrows.  It 
has  been  stimulated  by  the  struggle  with  the  great  Rebel 
lion,  by  the  slaying  of  that  other  President ;  it  must  be 
that  it  has  something  else  of  which  to  rid  itself,  that  this 
life  should  be  laid  down  to  raise  us  up.  This  sorrow  will 
leave  for  us  a  great  fame  and  reputation  in  the  land  ;  it  is 
a  great  thing  for  a  nation  to  have  one  more  man  set  in  its 
pantheon.  When  we  assemble  to-morrow  at  the  hour 
when  the  President's  remains  are  laid  in  the  ground,  we 
should  remember  what  his  soul  is  doing  ;  we  should  re 
member  the  influence  with  which  he  goes  forth  into  the 
history  of  the  country  ;  we  should  remember  the  vast  and 


132  THE  MAN  OF  HIS   TIME. 

unknown,  but  fascinating  service  into  which  he  goes  as  the 
child  of  God.  To-day  let  us  sit  around  his  coffin  and  say 
one  to  another,  "He  was  faithful  unto  death."  God  has 
given  unto  him  the  crown  of  life.  May  God  give  us  each 
the  same  faith  and  the  same  reward. 


A  NATION  MOURNS. 

By  Ex-Gov.  C.  K.  DAYIS. 
Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Services  in  St  Paul,  Minn.,  Sept  28, 188L 

A  NATION  mourns  to-day.  A  people  goes  with  slow  and 
measured  steps  through  streets  made  sombre  with  the  trap 
pings  of  woe,  under  funeral  arches,  to  the  measures  of  dis 
consolate  music,  wailing  its  farewell  lamentations,  to  bury 
and  to  praise — 

" the  ruins  of  the  noblest  man 

That  ever  lived  in  the  tide  of  times." 

The  world  is  darkened  to  us.  The  designs  of  Providence 
move  to  their  appointed  ends  through  so  vast  an  orbit  that 
we  cannot  see  through  our  tears  the  season  of  fruitage  from 
such  a  desolation  as  that  which  this  eclipse  has  caused. 
We  somehow  feel  as  if  our  very  institutions  are  tainted 
by  complicity  with  this  monstrous  crime,  and  are  accessa 
ries  to  it,  and  that  the  whole  responsibility  cannot  be 
bounded  by  the  nature  of  the  vulgar  murderer  whose  hand 
has  drawn  a  pall  over  the  land.  It  is  as  if  some  ancient 
fate,  working  to  its  ends  through  the  agencies  of  inno 
cence  and  guilt  alike,  had  fulfilled  a  remorseless  destiny  and 
smitten  down  the  dynasty  of  free  government,  while,  like 
the  chorus  of  some  classic  tragedy,  a  people  chants  the 
words  of  comfortless  mourning.  All  are  here.  The  labor- 

(133) 


134  A   NATION  MOURNS. 

er,  the  scholar,  to  whom  no  like  catastrophe  is  told  by  histo 
ry,  the  statesmen  saddening  over  the  fact  that  within  twen 
ty  years  two  presidents  have  been  murdered  the  business 
man,  the^woman,  and  the  little  child,  wide-eyed  with  won 
der  and  with  grief  — all  are  here  to  mourn. 

The  sermon,  the  eulogy,  the  dirge,  the  threnody  will  endr 
and  the  dead  President  will  pass  into  history,  with  all  his 
human  faults  atoned  for,  by  his  sacrifice.  History  often 
falsely  sees  the  character  of  a  man  through  the  adit  of  such 
a  death,  for  there  is  no  prospective  so  distorting.  It  is 
probable  that  Garfield  will  always  stand  in  this  illusory  and 
scenic  light,  and  it  is  well,  perhaps,  for  the  force  of  exam 
ple,  that  this  should  be  so.  Death  teaches  no  finer  precepts 
than  are  taught  by  the  lives  and  death  of  men  who,  good 
and  pure,  and  dedicated  apparently  to  the  consummation 
of  a  great  career,  are  thus  brought  down  untimely'.  It  was 
so  with  him.  He  had  finished  no  career.  He  had  not  fal 
len  the  leader  of  any  disastrous  political  measure.  He  had 
been  conspicuous,  though  not  pre-eminent,  in  the  press  of 
political  leadership.  That  he  was  capable  to  do  all  that 
men  more  self-assertive  aspired  to  do  every  one  knew. 
Still  it  was  felt  for  years  that  he  had  at.no  time  put  forth 
all  his  strength.  Upon  all  questions  of  statesmanship  he 
stood  in  the  van  of  the  most  advanced  thought.  Upon  the 
fleeting  questions  of  the  hour,  those  mere  expediences  of 
the  moment,  he  was  seldom  heard  to  speak. 

He  seemed  to  be  a  man  in  preparation  and  ripening 
slowly  for  the  performance  of  some  great,  ultimate  duty, 
which  should  surpass  the  daily  tasks  of  other  men,  however 
well  performed,  and  thus  round  out  that  crescent  life  to 
an  orb  of  never  fading  light.  But  this  was  not  to  be.  He 
has  been  stayed  in  his  course.  All  hope  of  success  or  dread 
of  failure  is  at  an  end,  and  we  are  free  to  consider  the 
example  of  what  this  man  might  have  become.  From 


A   NATION  MOURNS.  135 

earliest  life  he  was  an  assiduous  student,  and  thus  became 
next  perhaps  to  the  younger  Adams,  the  most  variously 
instructed  man  of  all  our  presidents.  It  is  exemplary  to 
know  the  wide  range  of  his  studies.  The  classics  had 
modeled  his  mind  to  antique  simplicity  and  beauty  of 
proportion.  No  speaker  of  English,  on  either  side  of  the 
ocean,  was  his  superior  in  the  command  of  its  resources. 
Whatever  was  to  be  known  of  the  operation  of  those 
political  forces  of  conservation  or  destruction  which  in  all 
ages  work  upon  all  governments  he  knew.  He  was  a 
student  both  diverse  and  minute.  He  was  graced  with  the 
adornments  of  literature  as  well  as  armored  in  its  panoply. 

It  was  pecular  to  this  man  that  all  he  knew  he  knew  how 
to  use.  He  played  many  parts  and  received  a  plaudit  in 
all.  He  had  been  a  laborer  with  his  hands,  a  college  pres 
ident,  a  theologian,  a  soldier,  and  a  statesman.  Each  vo 
cation  was  but  a  process  in  constructing  the  perfected  man, 
and  now  that  all  externals  have  been  taken  away  and  the 
work  has  ended,  we. can  see  an  edifice  of  such  manhood,  so 
widely  spread,  so  spacious  and  so  high  that  there  are  few 
such  in  the  realm  of  history.  The  natural  elements  of  the 
man  were  plainly  discernible  through  the  pellucid  sim 
plicity  of  his  character.  His  perception  of  duty  was  clear, 
and  his  tendency  to  its  performance  was  a  moral  gravita 
tion. 

He  doubtless  had  great  ambition,  but  it  was  to  noble 
ends;  it  was  the  ambition  which  honors  seek  and  which 
runs  not  after  honors.  Ready  to  serve  but  not  self-serving, 
would  be  an  appropriate  motto  for  the  man.  He  was  not 
that  padded  statesman,  too  well  known  in  our  day,  made 
up  of  newspaper  commendations.  Nor  can  any  taint  be 
found  in  his  career  of  that  dastardly  self-promotion  which 
wins  its  infamous  .way  over  the  destruction  of  other  men — 
that  caitiff  envy  which  spends  its  malignant  force  in  the 


136  A  NATION  MOURNS. 

despoilment  of  larger  and  better  natures.  His  logical  pro 
cesses  seldom  consisted  in  scholastic  ability  of  deduction, 
but  instinctive  sense  and  exposition  of  the  true  relation  of 
facts  and  situations  to  principals.  They  were  constructive, 
selective  and  analogical,  and  the  result  was  that  his  conclu 
sions  and  the  ways  by  which  he  reached  them,  argued  for 
themselves  as  a  perfect  piece  of  architecture  does. 

This  cursory  estimate  of  this  scholar,  soldier  and  states 
man  would  be  imperfect  if  it  failed  to  recognize  an  endow 
ment  which  he  had,  and  which  is  rarely  possessed  by  men 
of  affairs.  He  was  endowed  with  the  imaginative  faculty 
to  an  extent  unequalled  by  an  American  statesman.  It  was 
subtle,  far  seeing,  and  brought  into  correlative  relations 
things  most  remote  and  diverse.  The  tributary  forces  of 
his  scholarship  were  therefore  always  at  his  command,  and 
the  result  was  a  wealth  of  illustrative  power  in  which  he 
resembled  Edmund  Burke.  Who  will  ever  forget  the  sen 
tence  which  fell  from  his  lips  upon  the  tumultuary  conven 
tion  at  Chicago:  "  But  I  remember  it  is -not  the  billows,  but 
the  calm  level  of  the  sea,  from  which  all  heights  and  depths 
are  measured."  And  that  convention,  measuring  its  duty 
from  that  standard,  chose  the  man  who  doubtless  repre 
sented  best  the  calm  level  of  popular  thought.  With  his 
accession  to  the  presidency  an  exceeding  peace  spread  over 
the  nation.  Prosperity  opened  all  her  garners.  It  seemed 
as  if  our  years  of  trial  were  past  and  gone,  and  that  under 
the  rule  of  this  large-natured,  generous  man,  the  Saturnian 
days  had  come  again. 

But  in  a  moment  all  was  changed.  The  President,  who 
by  constitution  and  action,  was  showing  himself  to  be  an 
antagonist  to  every  corroding  political  evil  of  the  titties, 
who  combined  the  virtues  of  our  best  statesmen  wifth  the 
endowments  of  the  ripe  learning  by  which  States  are  ma£e 
great  and  governed  well,  was  shot  down  by  a  disappoint^ 


A  NATION  MOURNS.  137 

office-seeker  in  the  capital  of  the  Nation.  It  was  a  brutal 
murder,  like  those  assassinations  which  mark  the  annals  of 
every  corrupt  state  when  office  and  plunder  become  the 
controlling  forces  of  administration. 

It  becomes  us  at  this  moment,  when  sorrow  makes  every 
mind  capable  of  instruction,  to  learn  the  lesson  of  the  hour. 
For  sometimes  nations  can  be  taught  only  by  calami tjT,  and 
this  instructor  cites  us  before  her  now.  We  must  raise  our 
processes  of  popular  government  to  a  higher  plane,  through 
reforms  deep  and  permanent,  or  we  are  but  at  the  beginning 
of  calamities  like  this.  It  is  the  instruction  of  all  time  that 
when  a  government  becomes  personal,  when  it  becomes 
merely  the  instrument  of  personal  aggrandizement  through 
few  or  many  offices,  corruption  and  violence  strike  hands 
together  for  its  destruction.  Since  the  foundation  of  this 
government  three  political  murders  have  been  committed, 
and  the  victim  in  every  instance  has  been  the  personal  ex 
ponent  of  what  was  best  in  public  sentiment,  killed  by  one 
of  whom  what  was  worst,  had  taken  full  possession. 

Harrison,  Lincoln  and  Garfield,  each  in  their  time  rep 
resented  the  elements  of  thought  which  tended  best  toward 
our  national  greatness  and  perpetuity.  Do  not  misunder 
stand  me  as  alluding  here  to  any  of  those  temporary  and 
incidental  distinctions  in  the  workings  of  American  thought 
which  have  the  name  of  party.  The  occasion  and  the  fact 
prohibit  this.  I  mean  to  say  that  these  were  men  whose 
abounding  love  of  country  had  wedded  them  to  principles 
which  rose  above  the  fleeting  party  distinctions  of  the 
hour,  and  whose  duty  and  love  it  was  to  place  our  institu 
tions  on  a  more  lasting  basis  than  mere  party  sentimsnt 
ever  can.  Each  of  these  great  men  was  a  victim  to  the 
personal  politics  which  preceded  and  disgraced  their  times. 

These  evils  have  debauched  the  public  conscience  for 
many  years.  The  strife  to  get  office,  to  retain  office,  or  to 


138  A  NATION  MOURNS. 

dispossess  from  office,  is  the  master  passion  of  our  politics. 
Our  statesmen  have  become  too  often  mere  leaders  of  a 
personal  following,  who  fight  in  the  hope  of  reward.  Oar 
politics  consist  in  mean  advantages,  in  disreputable  practi 
ces,  in  the  use  of  men,  in  the  assassination  of  character, 
and  the  enjoyment  of  office.  For  many  years  not  one  dis 
tinctive  political  issue  has  stirred  the  stagnant,  rotting  level 
of  our  political  life.  This  lust  and  self-seeking  for  office 
has  become  the  pyaemia  of  our  system,  and,  predict  recov 
ery  as  we  may,  the  patient  is  dying  of  political  assassina 
tion. 

The  shot  which  has  laid  our  hopes  so  low  could  never 
have  been  fired  in  the  better  times  of  the  Republic.  We  have 
our  duty  to  gather  to  our  hearts  the  bloody  instructions  of 
our  loss.  Death  has  left  us  this  to  do.  It  grasped  Garfi eld's 
noble  heart  and  it  is  stilled  forever,  never  more  to  beat 
high  in  triumphant  anticipation  of  a  country  made  greater 
and  better  by  his  powers.  It  troc\  the  chambers  of  that 
massive  brain  and  thought,  and  the  soul  left  their  earthly 
palace  to  live  eternal  in  the  heavens  in  a  house  not  made 
with  hands.  It  smote  with  its  "  petrific  mace  "  that  manly 
form,  and  it  ceased  to  be  the  tabernacle  of  life.  It  is  a 
sight  to  call  up  prophets  to  walk  the  land  crying  wo!  wo! 
to  all  who  live  therein,  for  the  evangelist  of  murder  has 
come.  Who  could  believe  that  here  where  schools  abound, 
here  where  all  men  are  free,  here  where  religion  teaches 
from  more  than  ten  thousand  pulpits  the  lessons  of  heaven 
to  earth,  here  where  the  awful  sword  and  the  righteous 
scales  of  justice  are  suspended  high  and  untarnished  over 
all,  where  thought  and  speech  are  free,  that  the  fountain  of 
official  life  could  be  changed  to  a  pool  of  blood? 

The  genius  of  free  government  mourns  over  her  slau^h- 
tered  son.  She  calls  up  from  the  hells  of  history  the 
assassins  of  past  times  for  an  excuse  and  parallel,  but  she 


A   NATION  MOURNS.  139 

finds  none.  They  say,  cite  us  not — we  struck  at  evils  when 
we  struck  at  men ;  and  she  says  as  she  gathers  the  ashes 
of  Lincoln  and  ofOarfield,  and  lays  them  reverently  in  the 
everlasting  urn  of  history:  "  O,  my  children,  it  is  you  who 
have  made  possible  these  acts!  The  lessons  which  I  taught 
you,  you  have  forgotten!  You  are  depraved  with  pride,  Just 
for  power,  wicked  ambitions,  hatred,  malice  and  all  un- 
charitableness,  and  here  is  the  bloody  end.  Unto  your 
care,  O  people,  I  committed  my  choicest  son  from  the 
sweet  security  of  domestic  life  and  set  him  to  rule  over  you. 
He  was  gifted  with  the  learning  of  ages;  whatever  was 
taught  by  the  records  of  the  ancient  republic,  or  of  later 
times,  he  knew  for  you. 

"The  love  of  country  burned  in  that  stainless  heart  like  an 
altar  flame;  in  him  the  North  forgot  its  rancor,  and  the 
South  its  defeat.  Charity  ministered  at  his  side  with  her 
sweetest  works;  prosperity  was  spreading  over  you  like 
summer  over  a  sterile  land;  all  was  well  except  your  own 
rancorous  hearts,  and  it  is  thus  ye  give  him  back!  Listen, 
while  I  repeat  the  lesson  which  you  must  learn  to  live. 
States  sink  beneath  the  tide  of  time,  not  alone  under  the 
foreign  invader,  nor  under  the  usurping  ruler;  nor  under 
the  debauched  church,  nor  under  providential  annihilation. 
Thev  are  lost  by  their  own  abdication  of  that  public  spirit 
which  works  to  noble  ends.  Show  me  that  nation  whose 
heart  has  become  corrupt,  who  has  made  its  liberties  a  pro 
curess  to  its  personal  lusts  for  money  or  for  place — where 
fraud  rules  in  the  mart,  hypocrisy  pollutes  the  temple,  and 
corruption  putrifies  in  the  councils,  and  I  will  show  you  a 
people  whose  feet  have  taken  hold  on  the  paths  which  lead 
into  the  Gehenna  of  the  nations — and  so  surely  as  I  live  ye 
have  become  such  a  people." 

Well  will  it  be  for  us  to  heed  these  warning  words.     Let 
us  here,  at  this  chastening  hour,  absolve  ourselves  from  our 


140  A  NATION  MOURNS. 

rancor,  our  self-love,  our  party  hate,  our  malignant  greed 
for  office,  and  come  to  know  that  we  have  that  to  save  and 
perpetuate  which  is  greater  and  more  precious  than  our 
transitory  personal  interests — the  state,  our  earthly  all  in 
all. 


GARFIELD'S  DOMESTIC  LIFE. 


BY  REV.  L.  W.  BBIQHAM. 

Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Services  in  LaCroase,  Wi*.,  Sept  28, 188L 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: — I  come  to  help  weave  the  gar 
land  we  place  upon  the  brow  of  our  illustrious  dead.  Mj 
theme  touches  the  most  tender  and  ennobling  elements 
of  his  character.  However  great  Mr.  Garfield  was  as  a  sol 
dier,  scholar  or  statesman,  he  will  be  longest  remembered 
as  a  loving  obedient  son,  a  devoted  husband;  as  a  true- 
hearted  man  in  all  the  social  relations.  Unfortunately,  the 
public  know  but  little  of  this  man  in  private  life,  except 
what  was  manifested  during  the  last  few  weeks  of  pain  and 
impending  death. 

We  know  that  so  noble  and  true  a  man  as  he,  in  all  pub 
lic  trusts,  must  have  made  a  good  and  pure  home.  All 
that  we  have  seen  during  these  last  sad  weeks  confirms  our 
expectations,  and  we  understand  and  appreciate  all  Mr. 
Garfield's  good  qualities  and  sound  religious  principles. 
But  what  has  touched  and  moved  our  hearts  has  been  his 
tender  consideration  for  those  he  loved  more  even  than  his 
own  life.  Not  the  least  of  his  public  service  was  his  pure 
home-life,  that  to-day  blesses  and  exalts  every  home  in  our 
land.  The  American  people  have  never  had  such  an  expe 
rience  before  when  we  were  all  brought  together  around 

(141) 


142  GARFIELD'S  DOMESTIC  LIFE. 

one  bedside  of  suffering.  The  sick  chamber  of  our  Presi 
dent  lias  its  counterpart  in  every  household.  It  recalls 
the  hours  of  watching,  waiting,  hoping,  praying  and  be 
reavement  through  which  we  have  passed. 

The  real  life  of  Mr.  Garfield  centered  in  his  domestic  re- 
lations,  and  his  highest  inspirations  were  drawn  from  the 
home.  Mr.  Garfield,  like  most  men  who  have  attained  to 
eminence,  could  attribute  his  success  to  a  good  mother,  and 
to  a  wise  and  fitting  choice  of  a  companion  for  life,  and 
such  was  his  nobility  that  he  could  prize  a  mother's  love, 
and  appreciate  a  good  wife,  making  home  the  most  sacred 
spot  on  earth. 

Every  step  in  his  career  from  boyhood  to  manhood  shows 
his  first  thought  was  of  the  loved  ones  at  home.  And  as 
the  honors  come,  his  thought  is  of  the  pleasure  it  conferred 
on  the  home  friends.  They  could  never  divide  or  alienate 
his  heart  from  the  old  home.  He  was  one  of  the  few 
statesmen  to  whom  a '  word  of  love  and  commendation 
from  his  mother  and  wife,  was  dearer  than  the  honors  of 
the  world  or  shouts  of  the  multitude.  His  tenderness  of 
heart  and  Mrs.  Garfield's  wifely  devotion  have  sanctified 
every  home  in  the  land,  and  there  burns  to-day  upon 
the  altar  of  every  heart  a  purer,  truer,  holier  and  diviner 
love.  His  love  had  been  tried  by  the  ambitions  and  hon 
ors  of  the  world,  and  lastly  in  the  fiery  furnace  of  heroic 
suffering.  9 

His  first  act,  after  the  oath  of  office  had  been  adminis 
tered  in  Washington,  was  to  kiss  his  aged  mother  and  wife. 
Here  was  he  true  to  life.  The  first  impulse  of  his  noble 
heart  in  that  supreme  moment,  when  crowned  with  the 
highest  honors  the  world  could  give,  turned  toward  those 
he  loved,  and  who,  more  than  all  the  world  besides,  were 
interested  in  his  promotion.  They  shared  his  honors  as 
they  had  his  cares  and  labors.  The  son  and  husband  was 


GARFIELD'S  DOMESTIC  LIFE.  143 

here  greater  than  the  President  or  statesman;  his  heart- 
bonds  stronger  than  all  other  ties.  It  was  an  honor  to  his 
manhood  that  he  should  first  remember  her  who  bore  him; 
toiled  and  prayed  for  his  success.  She  sowed  in  tears,  that 
he  might  reap  in  honors. 

He  was  the  proud  realization  of  all  her  mother- hopes, 
and  no  other  person  could  so  fully  rejoice  in  his  prosper 
ity  as  that  dear  old  mother,  or,  she  who  had  toiled  by  his 
side  through  the  days  of  poverty,  darkness  and  obscurity,  a 
help-meet,  indeed  ;  one  now  a  rightful  sharer  in  his  har 
vest  of  honors.  Who,  more  than  they  could  feel  for  him; 
and  what  more  sublime  exhibition  of  manhood  than,  when 
James  A.  Gartield,  the  President  of  50,000,000  people, 
gave  this  testimonial  of  the  tenderness  of  his  heart  and  no 
bility  of  his  nature,  in  thus  recognizing  his  mother  and 
wife.  All  the  subsequent  events  show  that  this  act  was  a 
spontaneous  tribute  of  a  man,  whose  domestic  nature  wan 
the  strongest  cord  that  bound  him  to  life.  It  was  this  ten 
derness  of  love,  this  beauty  of  home  life  that  has  touched 
all  hearts,  so  that  his  death  became  a  personal  bereave 
ment  to  every  man,  woman  and  child. 

Every  home  should  mourn  his  loss  and  consecrate  itself 
to  a  purer  and  diviner  love.  When  stricken  down  by  the 
assassin  his  first  thought  was  of  the  wife,  and  so  through  all 
those  weary  days  of  pain,  and  patient  waiting  for  death,  the 
anxiety  and  solicitude  of  his  heart  was  toward  those  dearer 
than  life  itself.  On  that  fatal  morning  he  says  :  "  I  had 
rather  die  than  that  she  should  have  a  relapse."  In  the 
heroic  struggle  for  life,  his  heart  turned  toward  the  old  home 
of  his  early  years,  full  of  tender  memories  and  hallowed 
associations.  Even  when  the  hour  had  come  that  the  silver 
cord  was  loosed,  and  his  bark  sent  over  the  dark  waters,  the 
honors  of  the  world  and  grand  possibilities  for  future  use 
fulness,  now  passing  away  forever,  where  lost  from  con- 


144  GARFIELWS  DOMESTIC  LIFE. 

sciousness;  but  there  survived  to  the  last  moment  a  vision 
of  the  old  home,  and  the  last  dim  consciousness  of  the  dying 
hour  placed  him  in  the  family  circle,  surrounded  by  mother, 
wife  and  children. 

Tims  he  passed  away  to  the  higher  life,  there  to  wait  till  the 
home  above  is  completed,  and  the  family  gathered  in,  one 
by  one. 


A  PICTURE. 


BY  HON.  JOHN  H.  CRAIG. 

i 
Orator  of  the  day  at  the  Memorial  Service,  San  Franctoco,  Sept  25, 188L 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: — As  the  beginning  of  these  sad 
memorial  services,  what  can  I  say  to  you?  There  are  times 
when  silence  is  more  eloquent  than  any  words  which  mor 
tal  tongue  can  utter.  Though  these  lips  of  mine  were 
touched  with  sacred  fire,  in  vain  would  they  try  to  give  ex 
pression  to  the  unspeakable  pathos  of  this  hour.  After 
long  weeks  of  agonizing  suspense,  the  heart-rending  trage 
dy  is  ended — the  illustrious  sufferer  is  at  rest;  and  as  the 
scene  closes  at  his  grave,  and  the  curtain  falls,  the  world  is 
in  tears. 

Our  physical  presence  is  here  to-day  to  do  him  honor, 
but  our  thoughts  and  our  hearts  are  far  away,  where  at  this 
hour  the  mortal  remains  of  our  dead  President  are  com 
mitted  to  the  tomb.  Our  eyes  look  across  the  intervening 
Bpace,  and  behold  the  autumn  sun  shining  from  heaven  on 
the  solemn,  imposing  scene.  Before  his  open  grave,  un 
covered,  the  Nation  stands  in  tears,  the  majesty  of  these  fret, 
and  mighty  States  is  bowed  in  reverence  over  it;  and  the' 
homage  of  the  civilized  world,  like  an  invisible  presence^ 
10  (145) 


146  A   PICTURE. 

consecrates  the  beautiful  spot,  and  makes  it  holy  ground 
forever  more. 

"Hush!  the  dead  march  walls  in  the  people's  ears; 
The  black  earth  yawns,  yie  mortal  disappears. 
Ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust; 
,  And  he  is  gone  who  seemed  so  great; 

Wearing  upon  his  brow  a  truer  crown 
Than  any  wreath  that  man  can  weave  him." 

This  is  Dot  the  hour  to  speak  of  his  renown.  We  forget 
the  glory  of  his  example,  and  the  inspiration  of  his  fame, 
in  the  ead  thought  that  his  living  presence  has  passed  away 
forever  from  the  earth.  The  hour  of  fresh  sorrow  is  not 
the  hour  for  eulogy.  The  universal  grief  of  the  Nation  and 
the  world  speaks  his  eulogy,  and  at  the  eloquence  of  that 
grief  the  most  gifted  tongue  falters  and  is  mute.  That 
grief  has  corne  to  us  all  with  the  force  of  a  personal  be-- 
reavement.  It  has  touched  the  hearts  of  men  in  this  and 
oth'er  lands,  and  awakened  them  to  better  inspirations. 
Never  was  sorrow  so  universal  and  profound.  Never  was 
such  homage  paid  at  any  mortal  shrine — to  any  mortal  name. 
Surely  the  man  whose  death  has  put  the  world  in  mourn 
ing  needs  no  eulogy. 

We  are  fast  making  history — our  country  is  but  a  cen 
tury  old.  We  are  yet  in  the  morning  of  our  national  life. 
The  full  noontide  of  our  national  glory  has  not  yet  bright 
ened  the  heavens  above  us.  But  our  history  is  filled  with 
achievements  and  examples  which  the  world  cannot  afford 
to  lose.  Great  events  are  crowded  upon  each  other,  which 
are  shaping  the  world's  destiny,  and  marking  its  progress. 
And  great  names  have  "  leaped  into  the  light,"  to  shine 
forevermore.  The  names  of  heroes  who,  in  defense  of  the 
right,  have  led  the  front  of  battle — of  statesmen,  "Who 
knew  the  seasons  when  to  take  occasion  by  the  hand  and 
make  the  bounds  of  freedom  wider  yet." 

But  this  heart-rending  tragedy  is  the  saddest,  most  pa- 


A  PICTURE.  147 

thetic  event  in  our  history.  Its  effect  on  our  future  as  a 
nation  we  know  not.  That  will  depend  on  the  manner  in 
which  we  improve  the  great  and  solemn  lesson  which  it 
teaches.  But  this  we  know,  that  the  example  of  the  illus 
trious  victim  will  be  a  lofty  inspiration  to  all  coming  times, 
and  generations  yet  unborn,  as  they  read  the  page  where  it 
is  written,  will  proudly  weep,  and  find  his  name  the  dear 
est,  tenderest  memory  in  all  our  history. 

Look  at  the  picture  which  that  page  will  present,  and  let 
me  read  it  It  presents  an  extreme  contrast.  It  is  shaded 
from  the  extreme  of  human  guilt  to  that  of  human  excel 
lence  and  glory.  It  is  black  with  the  darkest  dye  of  hu 
man  crime.  It  is  stained  with  innocent  blood,  richer  than 
the  blood  of  kings.  It  is  blotted  with  human  tears.  Is 
illumed  with  the  tender  light  of  human  love,  and  radiant 
with  glory  born  of  suffering  endured  with  a  gentle,  heroic 
patience  almost  divine.  As  it  is  presented  to  the  world,  no 
wonder  that  all  hearts  are  stirred  to  their  profoundest 
depths.  There  seems  to  be  wanting  not  one  single  circum 
stance  to  heighten  the  pathos  of  the  sad,  tragical  event. 
We  shudder  as  we  think  of  the  vile,  guilty  wretch  cower 
ing  in  his  cell.  We  pity  and  do  homage  to  the  great  and 
martyred  victim.  Oar  tongues  falter  and  our  eyes  are 
dimmed  as  we  speak  of  the  bereaved,  orphaned  children, 
the  faithful,  heroic  wife,  and  the  dear  old  mother,  mourning 
for  her  noble  son,  and  longing  to  lay  down  her  weary  head 
beside  him  in  the  grave. 

The  most  touching  thing  connected  with  the  assassina 
tion  of  President  Garfield,  next  to  his  amazing  sufferings 
and  the  gentle,  heroic,  amazing  patience  with  which  they 
were  endured  is  the  glimpse  which  it  gave  to  the  world 
into  the  privacy  of  his  family  life,  and  the  tender  relations 
which  it  disclosed.  This,  more  than  his  high  position  and 
his  fame,  has  won  for  him  the  homage  of  all  true  and  loyal 


148  A  PICTURE. 

hearts.  For  we  instinctively  know  that  he,  who  in  a  long 
exalted  public  career,  and  even  in  the  highest  place  ou 
earth,  is  true  to  the  gentle  virtues  of  home,  and  the  duties 
of  a  tender  lather,  a  loving  husband,  and  a  noble  son,  must 
be  a  true,  a  good  and  noble  man.  Rising  by  his  own  un 
aided  powers  from  the  humblest,  lowliest  lot  in  life  to  the 
most  exalted  place  on  earth,  and  filling  his  high  seat  with 
a  gentle  dignity  and  a  lofty  purpose,  he  was  the  representa 
tive  of  the  supreme  sovereignty  of  the  American  people. 

But  he  was  something  more — he  was  the  representative 
and  type  ot  gentle,  cultured,  resolute,  self-reliant,  noble 
American  manhood.  When  the  free  choice  of  a  great  and 
free  people  is  fixed  on  such  a  man,  exalting  him  to  be  their 
ruler,  no  crowned  and  sceptered  king,  born  of  royal  blood, 
to  the  heritage  of  an  empire,  commands  from  the  world 
such  honor  while  he  nobly  lives,  or  such  homage  when  he 
nobly  dies. 

The  hearts  of  the  people  all  over  this  broad  land,  in  the 
south  as  well  as  the  north,  are  closer  together  to-day  than  they 
ever  were  before,  joined  in  the  sacred  fellowship  of  a  com 
mon  sorrow.  Past  alienations  are  forgotten;  old  resent 
ments  are  quenched  in  tears,  and  all  dissentions  are  buried 
in  the  grave  of  him  who  has  not  lived  or  died  in  vain.  Let 
us  learn  the  great  and  solemn  lesson  of  this  hour,  and  follow 
the  impulses  and  inspirations  which  it  awakens,  and  so  shall 
we  be  able,  even  in  this  dark  hour  of  national  bereavement, 
to  forecast  the  years  to  come, 

44  And  find  in  loss  a  gain  to  match/' 


GARFIELD'S  LEGACY. 


BY  RABBI  LILIENTHAL. 


Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Service  In  Cincinnati,  Sept  26..188L 

SHAKESPEARE,  in  his  Romeo  and  Juliet,  says: 

4  All  things,  that  we  ordained  festival, 
Turn  from  their  office  to  blac.k  funeral; 
Our  instruments  to  melancholy  bells, 
Our  wedding  cheer  to  a  sad  burial  feast; 
Our  solemn  hymns  to  sullen  dirges  change, 
Our  blooming  flowers  serve  for  a  bury'd  corse, 
And  all  things  change  them  to  the  contrary." 

The  English  bard  has  forstalled  our  grief,  our  mourning, 
a  Nation's  wailing!  Who  of  us  will  and  can  ever  forget 
that  Monday  night,  when  the  bells  of  the  city,  with  their 
heartless  iron  tongues,  announced  the  death-knell  of  the 
Nation's  patient!  We  had  hoped  against  hope;  we  had 
had  faith  against  fate — but  then  we  added  gloomy  silence 
to  the  silent  night,  and  lifted  the  tearful  eyes  unto  the  stars, 
and  realized  the  crushing  words  sung  by  Barrett : 

"I  tell  you,  hopeless  grief  is  passionless. 
That  only  men.  incredulous  of  despair, 
Half-taught  in  anguish,  through  the  midnight  air 
Beat  upward  to  God's  throne  in  loud  access 
Of  shrieking  and  reproach !  " 

Shrieking  upward  !  it  was  so  natural.     A  Nation's  cry  of 
agony   and  despair   ought  to  be  forgiven  ;  but  let   us    be 

(149) 


150  GARFIELD'S   LEGACY. 

silent,  and  listen  in  deepest  humility  to  the  great  lesson, 
given  in  sublime  eloquence  by  our  lamented  martyr  Presi 
dent,  when  he  said  : 

"  The  world's  history  is  a  divine  poem,  of  which  the  his 
tory  of  every  nation  is  a  canto,  and  every  man  a  word.  It& 
strains  have  been  pealing  along  down  the  centuries,  and 
though  there  have  been  mingled  the  discords  of  warring 
cannon  and  dying  men,  yet  to  the  philosopher  and  histo. 
rian — the  humble  listener — there  has  been  a  divine  melody 
running  through  the  song,  which  speaks  of  hope  and  hal 
cyon  days  to  come." 

This  was  our  Garfield's  faith,  this  his  unshaken  hope, 
this  the  word  of  comfort  which  he  sends  from  his  coffin 
and  his  grave,  to  his  mourning  countrymen. 

Alas,  we  stand  in  bitter  need  of  such  a  comforting,  and 
cheering  admonition.  Let  us  listen  to  it;  let  us  mind  itr 
for  it  comes  from  the  greatest  and  most  impressive  pulpit. 
— the  coffin  !  And  not  only  we,  the  American  people,  his 
people,  the  whole  world  needs  it;  the  parliament  of  man, 
the  federation  of  the  world  which  is  thrilled  with  horror, 
which  amidst  the  sighs  and  tears  stands  stupefied  at  the  un 
natural,  foul  and  strange  murder  of  our  President. 

Kings  and  emperors,  in  their  marble  palaces  and  on  their 
golden  thrones,  must  tremblingly  ask  :  What  will  be  our 
lot,  our  future,  when  the  man  not  installed  by  the  grace  of 
God,  but  by  the  free  choice  of  a  free  people,  cannot  escape 
the  assassin's  dagger,  the  assassin's  bullet  ? 

And  the  nations  of  the  world,  panting  for  freedom,  must 
ask  :  What  is  all  this  boasted  liberty  for,  when  the  chief 
of  a  Government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for 
the  people,  can  be  made  the  target  of  ruthless,  premeditated 
murder  ?  Shall  mankind  not  despair  ?  Must  you  not 
shroud  the  starry  banner  of  human  right  and  liberty  in 
deep,  deep  mourning  ? 


QARFIELD'S   LEGACY.  151 

No  such  shrouding  !  No  surrender  !  for,  from  the  coffin- 
pulpit  resound  the  other  great  words  which  Janies  A.  Gar- 
field  uttered,  with  patriotic  voice  and  lofty  spirit,  when 
hearing  of  the  death  of  Lincoln:  "  God  reigns  and  the  GOY- 
ernment  at  Washington  still  lives  I" 

This  is  the  great  legacy  he  left  to  his  people.  These  are 
the  memorable  words  which  the  mourning  yet  grateful  Na 
tion  shall  engrave  on  the  monument  to  be  erected  to  hit 
blessed  memory.  No,  rest  in  peace,  thou  Martyr  of  the 
people;  over  thy  grave,  in  yonder  beautiful  cemetery,  shall 
shine  like  the  eternal  stars  in  heaven,  that  starry  banner, 
for  which  thou  hast  fought,  for  which  thou  hast  bled,  under 
whose  embracing  folds  thou  hast  died! 

I  shall  not  speak  of  his  wonderful  career,  it  has  been  told 
and  repeated  by  thousands  and  ten  thousands  of  tongues- 
The  world  is  full  of  his  praise.  How  beiittingly  have  the 
press  and  merchants  of  the  metropolis  expressed  the  Na 
tion's  sentiment  when  they  said: 

"  In  the  death  of  President  Garfield  the  Nation  loses  one 
of  its  prominent  citizens,  a  worthy  representative  of  what 
ever  is  best  in  it,  whose  career  has  been  singularly  typical 
of  the  noblest  American  aspiration  and  success." 

He  will  always  be  remembered,  not  only  as  a  statesman 
of  large  experience  and  commanding  abilities;  not  only  as 
an  orator,  whose  words  of  eloquent  wisdom  were  effective 
and  often  controlling  in  debate;  not  only  as  a  patriot  soldier 
whose  skillful  generalship  and  unhesitating  courage  had 
been  signally  shown  on  the  bloodiest  fields,  but  also,  more 
affectionately  as  a  faith  I  ul  man  who  had  risen  by  his  own 
efforts  from  the  hum  blest  station  to  the  highest  position; 
who  had  gained  rare  culture  in  spite  of  the  sharp  limita 
tions  of  poverty,  and  who,  having  honored  and  adorned  every 
office  committed  to  him,  has  endeared  himself  as  never  be 
fore  to  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  by  the  fortitude  with 


l£2  GARFIELD'S   LEGACY. 

which  in  the  eighty  days  of  his  suffering  he  has  home  pain 
and  faced  without  fear  an  imminent  death. 

This  is  the  verdict  of  the  country;  what  can  we  add  to 
it  but  the  beautiful  words  of  Rowe: 

"What  can  I  pay  thee  for  this  noble  usage 
But  grateful  praise  ?  so  Heaven  itself  is  paid." 

I  shall  not  dwell  on  the  great  success  which  in  all  depart 
ments  of  our  Government  distinguished  his  short  career  as 
our  President.  The  Nation  felt  encouraged,  hopeful,  look 
ing  for  still  greater  achievement.  We  rather  say  with 
Franklin: 

— "  To  the  generous  mind 
The  heaviest  debt  is  that  of  gratitude, 
When  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  repay  it" 

Still  prompted  by  this  filial  and  unpayable  gratitude,  the 
Nation  throngs  around  his  coffin  and  grave,  to  pay  him  the 
last  tribute  of  honor  and  affection.  The  representatives  of 
the  people  will  accompany  the  earthly  remains  to  their 
resting-place.  Mountains  of  floral  tributes  will  testify  to 
the  love,  respect  and  veneration  in  which  he  was  held  by 
his  mourning  fellow-citizens;  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  the  melancholy  bells,  the  sullen  dirges,  the  gloomy 
processions  will  announce:  "  We  mourn  the  Nation's  loss." 

But  the  flowers  will  fade;  the  sound  of  the  dirges  will 
pass  away;  the  mourning  crowds  will  disperse,  and  will  this 
be  all  by  which  we  intend  either  to  honor  his  memory  or  to 
profit  by  the  terrible  lesson  of  his  death? 

Listen  again  to  the  warning  voice,  coming  from  his  grave: 
u  God  reigns  and  the  Government  at  Washington  still 
lives;"  and  must  live.  Yes,  must  live;  and  it  is  our  duty 
the  sacred  duty  of  the  living  ones,  to  guard  and  preserve  it, 
and  to  execute  the  will  of  the  departed  Chief. 

I  have  read  this  week  some  of  the  infamous  doctrines  first 
planted  on  American  ground  by  Aaron  Burr,  artd  thence- 


GABFIELD'S   LEO  ACT.,  153 

forth  spread  with  baneful  activity  throughout  the  land. 
Here  are  some  of  these  maxims: 

"  Politics  is  a  game,  the  prizes  of  which  are  offices  and 
contracts." 

"Fidelity  to  party  must  be  the  sole  virtue  of  a  politician." 

"  No  man  must  be  allowed  to  suffer  on  account  of  his 
fidelity  to  his  party,  no  matter  how  odious  to  the  people 
he  may  make  himself." 

"  The  end  and  aim  of  the  professional  politician  is  to 
keep  great  men  down  and  put  little  men  up.  Little  men, 
owing  all  to  the  wire-puller,  will  be  governed  by  him. 
Great  men,  having  ideas  and  convictions,  are  perilous  even 
to  tools." 

This  is  the  cancer  which  eats  at  the  vitals  of  the  Govern 
ment  and  the  country.  It  must  be  cut  out,  and  marked  by 
the  dreadful  example  we  have  witnessed,  the  people  in  its 
majestic  sovereignty  must  rise  and  must  demand  the  unde 
layable  reform ;  then  we  shall  see  day  instead  of  the  night  of 
the  grave,  and  the  owls  shall  fly  back  into  the  haunts  of 
darkness  and  nothingness. 

Thus  Washington's  Government  shall  live,  indeed;  thus 
and  then  we  shall  love  thy  memory,  sainted  martyr;  and  tn 
the  name  of  all  of  us,  I  close  with  Carlyle's  verses  : 

**  I  find  a  pious  gratitude  disperse 

Within  my  soul ;  and  every  thought  to  him 

Engenders  a  warm  sigh  within  me,  which, 

Like  curls  of  holy  incense,  overtake 

Each  other  in  my  bosom,  and  enlarge, 

With  their  embrace,  his  sweet  remembrance.1* 

Farewell!     Farewell! 


GARFIELD-THE  TYPICAL  AMERICAN. 


BY  PROF.  J.  C.  SHATTUCI. 


Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Service  In  Greeley,  Col.,  Sept  26, 188L 

JAMES  A.  GABFIELD  was  a  typical  American.  He  was 
born  amid  the  forests.  A  great  many  generations,  since 
the  settlement  of  Plymouth  and  Jamestown,  have  been  born 
in  the  forests,  and  have  given  the  strength  of  their  arms  for 
the  rendering  of  those  forests  fit  for  the  habitation  of  man. 

He  was  typical  in  his  birth,  and  in  his  early  boyhood 
learned  to  swing  the  axe  amid  the  great  trees  that  grew 
around  his  father's  farm,  which  strengthened  his  muscles 
and  rendered  him  vigorous  of  frame. 

He  was  typical  in  the  circumstances  of  his  youth.  No 
man  can  read  his  life,  as  millions  to-day  are  hearing  it, 
without  being  convinced  that  these  circumstances  and 
struggles  were  necessary  to  make  him  the  man  he  was. 
Yet  no  circumstances  could  have  swallowed  up  such  a  God- 
endowed  man  as  James  A.  Garfield.  I  don't  believe,  how 
ever,  that  if  he  had  been  born  to  wealth  and  position,  if  he 
had  been  able  to  pave  his  way  without  difficulty  through 
school  and  college  with  the  temptations  and  surroundings 
of  wealth,  that  he  would  have  been  less  enervated,  for  I  be 
lieve  that  to  give  him  the  fiber  he  possessed,  and  which 
made  him  essentially  the  great  man  that  he  was,  standing 

(154) 


GARFIELD—THE   TYPICAL  AMERICAN.  155 

prominently  among  the  great  men  of  the  earth,  there  was 
needed  just  that  determination  which  he  early  formed,  and 
which  was  greatly  fostered  by  the  circumstances  of  his 
youth. 

He  had  determined  on  a  college  course,  and  was  told  that 
probably  in  the  course  of  twelve  years,  and  by  hard  labor, 
he  could  work  his  way  through  college,  without  exterior 
help.  Was  he  daunted?  Oh,  no!  Says  his  biographer: 
u  Every  other  impulse  of  his  life  became  absorbed  in  that 
one — *  I  will  go  through  college;5"  and  he  went  through 
college — not  in  twelve  years,  but  in  eight — working  day 
and  night,  at  farm-work,  carpentering,  or  anything  that 
came  to  his  hand;  never  an  idle  moment  until  he  got 
through  his  college  career.  The  circumstances  of  his  edu 
cation  were  fortunate  in  this,  that  thereby  he  came  to  know 
Mark  Hopkins. 

On  one  occasion  General  Garfield  said,  "  I  rejoice,  my 
friends,  to  see  the  great  institutions  of  learning  that  are 
springing  up  out  of  the  munificence  of  my  countrymen  all 
over  this  fair  land,  but  I  say  to  you  that  if  I  had  it  to  do 
over  again — to  choose  where  I  should  attend  college,  and 
all  these  were  to  open  their  magnificent  doors  to  me,  and 
here  stood  Williams'  old  log  cabin  with  Mark  Hopkins  in 
it  as  President,  that  would  be  college  enough  for  me." 
Through  our  beloved  martyred  President,  the  influence 
of  that  one  man,  Mark  Hopkins,  will  go  on  and 
on,  blessing  the  human  race  long  after  the  materials 
which  now  make  the  grand  edifice  called  Williams  College 
shall  have  crumbled  into  forgotten  dust.  So,  too,  with 
Garfield.  He  was  typical  in  that  he  was  among  the  very 
best,  and  his  influence  has  changed  the  course  of  hun 
dreds  of  young  men.  No  one  could  come  before  him  and 
listen  to  him  without  being  drawn  out  of  himself  and  up 
into  the  higher,  nobler,  purer  sphere  where  he  walked, 


156  GARFIELD— THE  TYPICAL  AMERICAN. 

and   into   the   sweeter    atmosphere    which    he    breathed. 

[The  speaker  here  related  the  incident  of  Garfield's  dis 
obeying  orders  in  regard  to  delivering  up  slaves  who  had 
escaped  to  our  lines  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  which, 
doubtless,  was  the  first  step  that  led  to  the  proclamation  of 
freedom.  Also  to  show  his  kindness  of  heart  and  magna- 
nimity,  related  the  story  of  the  non-commissioned  officer 
who  went  to  sleep  while  guarding  the  entrance  to  head 
quarters,  and  to  whom  Garfield  apologized  for  falling  over 
him,  instead  of  placing  him  in  the  guard-house.] 

One  instance  more,  showing  the  greatness  of  this  man, 
as  well  as  the  clearness  and  keenness  of  his  judgment: 
You  will  remember  how  high  the  feeling  ran,  North  and 
South,  during  the  year  succeeding  the  war.  General  Gar- 
field  was  in  his  first  term  of  Congress,  and  not  so  thorough 
ly  known.  Here  came  an  issue  which  many  of  you  will 
remember.  Congress  had  passed  an  act  providing  that  as 
fast  as  our  lines  were  extended  into  the  so-called  Rebel 
States  that  the  citizens  thereof  could  form  what  was  called 
a  loyal  government,  and  become  States  in  the  Union  again; 
but  President  Lincoln  vetoed  the  act.  Soon  after  the  veto 
old  Ben  Wade  and  Henry  Winter  Davis  united  in  a  letter 
which  they  published  in  the  New  York  Tribune,  very 
sharply  and  very  bitterly  criticising  Mr.  Lincoln  for  this 
action.  General  Garfield  stood  by  Wade  and  against  the 
President  in  this  issue.  His  district  uphelft  the  veto  and 
condemned  the  Wade  and  Davis  letter. 

The  time  drew  nigh  when  the  district  convention  should 
re-nominate  Garfield  or  his  successor;  certain  parties  were 
very  active,  thinking  they  saw  in  this  position  that  Garfield 
cad  taken,  an  opportunity  for  brushing  Garfield  out  of  the 
way.  And  they  worked  that  thing  up  so  thoroughly  and 
well  that  when  the  convention  assembled  one  of  their  first 


GA11FIELD—THE   TYPICAL  AMERICAN.  157 

acts  was  to  pass  a  series  of  resolutions  indorsing  the  Pres 
ident  and  censuring  Wade — thus  involving  Gartield. 

Now  mark  the  man.  lie  was  a  young  man,  in  the  prime 
of  his  manhood,  who  had  set  aside  a  very  promising  milita 
ry  career,  resigning  his  position  as  Major  General  in  the 
army,  and  entered  this  new  field.  Now  everything  looked 
dark  for  the  future.  He  recognized  the  dangers  of  his  be. 
ing  set  aside,  and  what  did  he  do?  He  went  to  the  conven 
tion — not  to  lobby  or  button-hole  the  members,  but  to  e?:- 
press  his  decided  opinions  in  regard  to  this  matter.  Be 
fore  his  arrival  upon  the  train,  these  resolutions  had  been 
passed  by  a  large  majority,  and  when  he  put  in  his  appear 
ance  at  the  convention  he  was  invited  to  address  them. 
He  only  used  a  few  short  sentences  in  which  he  stated  his 
convictions  firmly  and  clearly,  placing  himself  distinctly 
upon  the  side  of  "Wade  in  this  issue  and  giving  his  reasons 
therefor,  concisely  and  pointedly.  He  then  passed  from  the 
platform  down  the  aisle,  through  the  hall  down  stairs,  on  to 
his  hotel,  and  afterwards  to  the  train,  supposing  that  there 
was  no  possible  hope  of  a  re-nomination.  But  he  had  vin 
dicated  his  manhood. 

This  man  would  not  abate  one  jot  of  his  private  judgment 
upon  a  serious  matter;  no,  not  for  the  united  voice  of  that 
district  he  loved  so  truly.  What  was  the  result?  Ah!  the 
master  had  been  there.  The  leader  of  the  opposition  and 
promoter  of  the  resolutions  sprung  to  his  feet  before  the 
sound  of  Gartield's  footsteps  had  died  away  in  the  hall,  and 
said: 

"  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen  of  the  convention  :  a  man 
who  has  the  moral  courage  to  beard  this  convention  in  that 
manner  deserves  a  nomination,  and  I  move  that  General 
James  A.  Garfield  be  re-nominated  by  acclamation."  And 
it  was  done,  amidst  great  applause  and  enthusiasm.  Such 
was  the  power  of  Gartield's  influence,  prompted  by  a  depth 
of  manhood  and  integrity  seldom  if  ever  excelled. 


158  GARF1ELD—THE   TYPICAL  AMERICAN. 

During  the  past  eighty  days  millions  of  eyes,  though 
dimmed  with  tears,  have  been  going  over  the  record  of  his 
life,  and  I  dare  any  man  to.  produce  anything  that  stains 
the  honor  of  this  man,  from  the  days  of  his  boyhood  until 
this  sad  nineteenth  day  of  September,  when  this  glorious 
record  was  closed.  James  A.  Garfield  was  the  highest  type 
of  a  man  we  have  been  permitted  to  see.  I  have  no  expec 
tation  of  ever  again  in  my  life  seeing  in  the  presidential 
chair  a  man  so  blameless  in  his  private  life,  so  noble  in 
every  phase  of  his  character,  so  great  in  all  lines  of  thought, 
and  who  has  so  strong  a  hold  upon  the  hearts  of  this  great 
people,  as  this  man  Garfield.  I  rejoice  that  I  have  lived  to 
see  such  a  man  ;  I  rejoice  that  I  am  able  to  go  over  his 
career,  day  by  day  and  year  by  year,  and  find  it  so  faultless. 
I  commend  it  to  you,  young  and  old.  There  is  not  a  page 
of  this  eventful  career  that  even  the  bitter  hate  of  political 
passion  can  unfold  that  is  not  fair  to  the  eyes  and  beautiful 
to  all  mankind. 

He  has  done  remarkable  things  for  th'S  country.  No 
man  of  his  day  gave  more  careful,  thoughtful  study  to  the 
important  problems  affecting  the  welfare  of  the  Republic; 
no  man  showed  better  judgment — so  ripe  and  far-seeing. 
How  we  leaned  upon  him  !  What  a  sense  of  security  and 
confidence  went  over  the  country  when  we  knew  that  his 
hand  was  guiding  the  helm.  But  to  the  honor  of  this  man 
the  Great  Ruler  of  the  Universe  has  thought  it  meet  to  add 
the  martyr's  crown.  Lying  there  these  eleven  weeks  in 
pain  and  suffering,  he  has  been  such  a  blessing  to  the 
United  States  of  America  and  the  civilized  world,  as  neithei 
he  nor  any  otner  man  could  have  been  in  the  prime  of  his 
strength  and  g^ory.  His  activities  have  been  stilled  that 
the  voice  of  his  Creator  might  the  more  clearly  be  heard. 

It  is  not  what  a  man  does  in  any  one  of  his  great  suc 
cesses  that  fixes  his  place  among  his  contemporaries  or  in 


OARFIELD—THE  TYPICAL  AMERICAN.  159 

the  judgment  of  posterity— oh,  no!  it  is  that  something 
back  of  all  these  single  actions  that  we  call  character;  and 
it  needed  the  assassin's  pistol  and  the  eighty  days  of  suffer 
ing  to  put  the  appropriate  crown  upon  this  man's  brow,  to 
show  to  all  the  full  measure  of  his  power  and  the  character 
he  had  built  up. 

And  so,  to-day,  millions  upon  millions  who  gather  to 
pay  the  last  sad  rites  to  this  great  and  good  and  noble  man, 
will  say,  "Tis  well" 


TRUE  TO  HIMSELF-FALSE  TO  NONE. 


BY  HON.  R.  F.  PETTIBONB. 
Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Services  In  Burlington,  WIs.,  Sept.  28,  188L 

LESS  than  half  a  century  ago  James  A.  Garfield  was  a 
bnbe  in  his  cradle — to-day  he  is  the  loved  and  honored  dead 
of  this  Nation  and  of  humanity. 

What  is  the  power  that  enabled  him  to  tread  this  shining 
way  from  obscurity  to  world- wide  renown  ?  I  know  of  no 
better  answer  than  may  be  found  in  his  own  words:  u  Dur 
ing  the  twenty  years  that  I  have  been  in  public  life,  I  have 
tried  to  do  one  thing.  Whether  I  was  mistaken  or  other 
wise,  it  has  been  the  plan  of  my  life  to  follow  my  convic 
tions,  at  whatever  personal  cost  to  myself.  I  have  repre 
sented  for  many  years  a  district  in  Congress  whose  appro 
bation  I  greatly  desired,  but,  though  it  may  seem  perhaps 
a  little  egotistical  to  say  it,  I  yet  desired  still  more  the  ap 
probation  of  one  person,  and  his  name  was  Garfield." 

Yes,  that  is  it;  that  is  the  secret  of  his  power — true  to 
himself,  true  to  his  own  convictions  of  duty.  And  well 
did  the  world's  great  poet  say: 

To  thine  ownself  be  true, 

And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 

Thou  canst  not  then  prove  false  to  any  man." 

And  the  glorious  path  he  trod  from  the  forest  clearing 

(160) 


TRUE  TO  HIMSELF— FALSE  TO  ZONE.  161 

to  the  White  House — from  humble  oblivion  to  fame,  wide- 
as  humanity,  is  open  to  the  humblest.  What  an  inspira 
tion  to  every  young  man  burning  with  the  great  and  noble- 
ambitions  of  life.  Thanks  to  God  and  the  fathers  for  insti 
tutions  which  make  it  possible  that  a  day-laborer  shall  be? 
chiefest  and  best  valued  among  us. 

We  loved  the  hero  for  his  splendid  record  written  with 
steel  amid  the  carnage  and  desolation  of  war. 

We  loved  him  for  his  wise  and  brave,  his  dignified  and 
unsullied  course  in  public  life  during  the  past  twenty 
years,  but  most  of  all,  we  loved  him  for  his  high  manhood 
displayed  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  for  his  devotion  to  hi& 
home,  the  most  sacred  spot  to  him  upon  earth.  O  how 
pitiful  was  his  longing  for  that  Mentor  home  when  hi& 
every  nerve  was  racking  pain! 

And  it  was  time  that  these  old  virtues  were  re-established. 
It  is  not  the  style  in  these  later  days  to  reverence  an  old 
mother.  It  is  gone  out  of  fashion  for  men  to  hold  their 
wives  above  all  other  women,  and  it  is  not  deemed  neces 
sary  to  continue  the  chivalry  of  love.  Social  vices  abound- 
The  home  is  no  longer  the  dearest  and  most  sacred  spot 
upon  earth.  It  is  but  a  place  to  eat  and  sleep.  But  this 
man  came  bringing  his  quiet  home  to  the  first  mansion  in 
the  land. 

Though  a  mighty  man  and  a  ruler  of  rulers,  his  mother 
was  honored  and  reverenced,  his  wife  was  loved  and  cher 
ished,  his  children  were  tenderly  cared  for,  his  home  was 
his  holy  of  holies — for  he  remembered  that  all  these  were 
a  part  of  him,  and  had  helped  to  make  him  what  he  was. 
O,  what  a  thought  for  us.  Without  the  home  and  its  in 
fluences  a  free  government  like  ours  is  not  possible  for  a, 
day.  In  the  true  home  center  all  the  powers  and  forces 
that  make  men  great.  And  when  its  pure  influences  stream 
forth  into  the  current  of  public  life,  we  know  that  the  R  * 
11 


162  TRUE   TO  HIMSELF— FALSE   TO    NOfrE. 

tion  is  safe— that  "  the  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 
The  past  rises  before  me  like  a  cloud.  I  see  the  babe  in 
his  humble  cradle  in  the  home  of  proverty  and  toil ;  I  see 
the  youth- struggling  for  daily  bread  in  the  sweat  of  his 
brow ;  I  see  the  young  man  step  by  step  working  his  way 
forward  through  all  discouraging  hindrances  to  the  rank  of 
a  scholar;  I  see  the  man  still  young  amid  the  roll  of  drums 
and  the  roar  of  battle,  as  he  leads  his  men  at  Sandy  Creek 
and  Piketon;  I  see  him  as  he  rides  across  the  field  of  fire  at 
•Chickamauga;  I  see  him  in  the  Halls  of  Congress  winning 
his  way  to  the  leadership  of  the  House;  I  see  the  streets  in 
New  York  crowded  with  maddened  men:  Lincoln  was  shot 
last  night:  thousands  upon  thousands  are  gathered  in  that 
great  center  of  the  Nation's  commerce,  furious  with  rage  and 
burning  for  revenue;  I  see  Butler  of  Massachusetts  with 

O  c5       7 

orape  streaming  from  his  arm,  and  hear  his  voice  choked 
with  tears — "Gentlemen,  he  died  in  the  fullness  of  his 
power."  A  telegram  is  read:  u  Seward  is  dead."  I  hear  a 
wild  cry  from  that  frenzied  throng  which  means  death  and 
desolation  to  hundreds.  I  hear  a  voice — "  Another  telegram 
from  Washington,"  and  in  the  moment's  hush  which 
follows,  these  words  come  with  a  clarion  clearness: 

"  FELLOW-CITIZENS: — Clouds  and  darkness  are  around 
about  Him.  His  pavilion  is  dark  waters  and  thick  clouds 
of  the  sky.  Justice  and  judgment  are  the  habitation 
of  his  throne.  Mercy  and  truth  shall  go  before  his  face. 
Fellow-citizens,  God  reigns,  and  the  Government  at  Wash 
ington  still  lives!" 

And  the  frenzy  and  madness  of  the  throng  are  quelled 
by  that  divinely-gifted  man.  O,  what  a  prophet's  voice 
seems  that  utterance,  as  we  stand  in  the  presence  and 
the  mystery  of  his  death. 

We  love  him  for  his  tenderness  to  his  mother,  for  his  de- 


TRUE   TO  HIMSELF— FALSE    TO  NONE.  163 

votion  to  his  wife,  who  was  to  him  the  one  woman  above  all 
other  women,  for  his  companionship  with  his  children. 
Aye  I  for  these  things  he  came  into  our  hearts. 

Other  men  had  been  great  leaders  upon  the  battle-field 
and  in  legislative  halls,  but  he,  the  great  teader,  was  the 
filial  son,  the  chivalrous  husband,  the  kind  lather,  the 
stancli  friend.  Who  will  forget  that  when  the  message 
was  sent  over  the  wires  announcing  his  fall  to  that  loved 
wife — it  bore  his  words  also  to  her:  "  He  sends  his  love  to 
you." 

Again  I  see  him  as  I  saw  him  but  yesterday  at  that  his 
toric  gathering  in  the  metropolis  of  the  Northwest.  The 
great  building  is  packed  with  thousands  upon  thousands  of 
men,  an  eager  and  yet  tickle  throng.  The  eloquent  and  regal 
senator  from  New  York  has  finished  his  masterly  and  stir 
ring  presentation  of  the  name  of  General  Grant.  From 
floor  to  rafter  the  building  rocks  with  cheers.  The  world 
seems  gone  mad  for  the  nomination  of  the  Hero  of  Appo- 
mattox.  The  New  York  delegation  seizes  its  banner  and 
heads  the  procession  down  the  aisles  of  the  hall ;  delega 
tion  after  delegation  follow,  waving  flags  and  banners,  until 
the  floor  of  the  convention  is  the  parade  ground  of  an 
army,  while  the  majestic  Conkling  waves  his  hand  to  the 
admiring  galleries  as  a  signal  for  fresh  tumults  of  cheers. 

In  the  midst  of  this  gigantic  uproar,  Ohio  is  called,  and 
a  delegate  springs  upon  a  table  in  front  of  the  reporters. 
He  is  a  man  of  tine  physique,  with  a  large  head  which  seems 
more  than  half  forehead;  a  clear  eye,  deep  blue  to  his 
friends,  but  a  cold  gray  to  his  foes,  and  his  voice  rings  like 
a  trumpet!  His  first  words  still  the  vast  audience  into  the 
silence  of  death,  and  as  he  goes  on  towards  a  fitting  climax, 
I  hear  him  tell  that  Convention  that  not  in  Chicago,  in  the 
heat  of  June,  but  at  the  firesides  of  the  Republic,  in  the 
days  of  November  the  contest  will  be  decided,  and  that  it 


164  TRUE    TO  HIMSELF— FALSE   TO  NONE. 

is  the  cairn  level  of  the  sea  below  the  tumult  and  the  storm, 
by  which  all  heights  and  depths  are  measured.  I  felt  that 
whatever  the  outcome  ol"'  that  contest,  the  great  and  wise 
man  whose  voice  is  sounding  in  my  ears,  is  titter  than  they 
all  to  be  the  ruler  of  this  great  people. 

I  see  him  as  the  flush  comes  into  his  face  near  the  end 
of  that  memorable  contest,  when  Wisconsin  heads  the  break, 
and  casts  for  him  her  seventeen  votes — Thank  God  for  Wis 
consin, — and  then  Indiana  wheels  into  line,  and  then  State 
after  State  forgets  its  favorite,  and  hastens  to  his  banner.  I 
see  him  after  he  has  taken  the  oath  of  office,  and  has  spoken 
Ms  inaugural  tidings  of  conciliation  and  grand  promise: 

"The  Nation  is  resolutely  facing  to  the  front,  resolved  to 
employ  its  best  energies  in  developing  the  great  possibili 
ties  of  the  future.  Sacredly  preserving  whatever  has  been 
gained  to  liberty  and  good  government,,  during  the  century, 
our  people  are  determined  to  leave  behind  them  all  those 
bitter  contentions  concerning  things  which  have  been  irrevo 
cably  settled,  and  the  further  discussion  of  which  can  only  stir 
up  strife  and  delay  the  onward  march,"  then,  forgetful  of 
the  great  concourse,  turning  reverently  to  kiss  that  grand 
mother  and  devoted  wife,  under  the  gaze  of  the  American 
people. 

"Who  sneers  at  it  now  as  sentimental?  It  was  the  man. 
Grander  spectacle  Nation  never  looked  upon. 

I  see  him  upon  his  bed  during  the  long  agony  of  his 
martyrdom,  and  no  word  of  complaint  or  purpose  of  re 
venge  passes  his  calm  lips.  There  he  lies,  the  wonder  and 
admiration  of  all  nations,  the  hero  of  the  world.  I  see  him 
as  he  gasps,. UO  Swaim!  what  a  terrible  pain!  Can't  you 
do  something  for  me?"  And  the  pulse  flutters  and  the 
breath  grows  faint.  The  light  flickers  and  goes  out,  and 
the  heroic  woman  strokes  the  nerveless  arm  of  her  dead. 
Aye!  roll  your  surges,  ocean,  in  ceaseless  moaning  for  our 


TRUE  TO  HIMSELF— FALSE  TO  NONE.      165 

hero.  Hide  your  faces,  stars  of  heaven,  and  let  the  earth 
be  shrouded  in  darkness.  Sweep  your  sable  pinions  across 
the  sky,  O  clouds,  and  let  not  the  sun  look  upon  onr  be 
loved.  And,  men  of  every  hind,  ring  out  the  iron  bells  in 
peals  of  woe.  Drape  your  houses  and  let  your  hearts  be 
sad,  for  the  friend  of  man  is  dead.  Autumn  shall  wither 
the  leaves,  and  winter  shall  hide  the  earth  with  snow  as 
with  a  garment.  Spring  shall  come  again  and  wear  her 
crown  of  verdure;  and  summer  shall  adorn  the  earth  with 
flowers,  and  with  the  kindly  fruit  of  the  fields.  Men  shall 
sow  the  seed  and  reap  the  harvest;  kingdoms  shall  fall  and 
empires  shall  spring  up,  and  all  things  ripen  towards  the 
end,  but  the  gentle,  courageous,  humble,  kingly  man  shall 
come  back  to  us  no  more  forever. 

And  now  they  lay  him  at  rest  in  that  beautiful  spot  by 
the  blue  waters  of  the  lake  upon  which  he  gazed  in  boy 
hood.  Cannon  thunder  a  last  tribute,  and  all  that  is  mor 
tal  of  James  A.  Garfield  waits  beneath  the  sod  for  the 
trumpet  of  the  last  day. 

Ilis  death  has  brought  sorrow  to  mankind,  rest  to  a  hero, 
duty  to  a  nation.  The  standards  he  set  we  must  never 
lower.  We  must  see  to  it  that  Guiteau  writes  no  page  of 
American  history.  It  is  left  tor  us  to  cherish  the  hero's 
memory  and  hand  it  down  to  the  generations  which  shall 
come- after  us,  as  a  dear  possession  for  aye,  to  explore  his 
character  and  reproduce  it  in  our  children,  that  when  the 
stranger  shall  ask,  "Where  is  his  monument?"  we  may  re 
ply,  " The  Nation  is  his  memorial;"  to  reap  the  fruit  of 
his  labors,  garnered  in  our  institutions  and  in  our  laws, 
and  to  write  above  all,  "in  letters  of  living  light,"  "(tod 
reigns,  and  the  Government  at  Washington  still  lives." 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  STORY. 


BY  CnANCKY  M.  DKPEW. 

Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Service  of  the  Grnnd  Army  of  the  Republic, 
Kew  York,  Sept.  26,  1881. 

WE  have  met  together  many  times  in  the  long  years  past 
on  occasions,  serious  and  trifling,  sad  and  joyful;  for  the 
hot  discussions  of  politics,  for  the  purpose  of  commemorat 
ing  historical  and  patriotic  events,  and  to  strew  with  flowers 
and  eulogiums,  the  graves  of  our  heroic  dead  ;  but  never 
before  have  we  assembled  when  we  were  only  the  units  of 
universal  and  all-embracing  grief.  The  sun,  in  its  course, 
has  for  the  past  two  months  greeted  with  its  morning  rays, 
a  never-ending  succession  of  kneeling  millions,  supplicating 
the  heavenly  throne  to  spare  the  life'  of  General  Garfleld  ; 
and,  during  the  last  forty-eight  hours,  it  has  set  upon  them, 
bowed  in  sorrow  for  his  death. 

This  intense  interest  has  been  limited  by  neither  bounda 
ries  nor  nationalities.  It  has  belted  the  globe  with  mourn 
ing.  Why  has  this  calamity  touched  the, chords  of  univer 
sal  sympathy?  Heroes  and  statesmen  have  died  before,  but 
never  before  have  all  civilized  peoples  felt  the  loss  their 
own.  The  glory  of  the  battle-field  has  mingled  exultation 
with  the  soldier's  agony.  Statesmen  have  closed  a  long  and 
distinguished  career,  but  the  loss,  has  been  relieved  by  the 
reflection  that  such  is  the  common  lot  of  all.  Lincoln's 
murder  was  recognized  as  the  expiring  stroke  of  a  dying 
cause.  The  assassination  of  him  who  was  the  savior  of 

(16G) 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  STORY.  16T 

Holland,  and  the  hope  of  the  liberty  of  his  time,  was  felt 
to  be  the  fruit  of  implacable  feud  and  religious  strife;  but 
the  shot  at  Garfield  was  the  most  causeless,  purposeless  and 
wicked  crime  of  the  century.  No  section,  no  party,  no 
faction,  desired  his  death.  It  had  no  accessories  in  public 
vengeance  or  private  malice. 

The  President  was  a  strong,  brave,  pure  man,  in  the  prime 
of  his  power;  the  trusted  Executive  of  fifty  millions  of 
people;  the  title  to  his  office  unquestioned;  and  the  Nation^ 
unanimous  in  the  purpose  that  he  should  develop  his  policy 
and  fulfill  his  mission.  Such  a  life  and  career,  so  ruthless 
ly  broken,  arouse  horror  and  sympathy. 

But  the  love,  reverence  and  sadness  of  this  hour  are  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  man  himself,  in  his  strength  and  weak 
ness,  in  his  struggles  and  triumphs,  in  his  friendships  and 
enmities,  in  his  relations  to  mother,  wife  and  children,  and; 
in  his  battle  with  death,  was  the  best  type  of  manhood. 
He  was  not  one  of  those  historical  heroes,  with  the  human 
element  so  far  eliminated  that,  while  we  admire  the  char 
acter,  we  rejoice  that  it  exists  only  in  book,  and  on  canvas; 
but  a  man  like  ourselves,  with  like  passions  and  feelings, 
but  possessed  of  such  greatness  and  goodness,  that  the 
higher  we  estimated  him  the  nearer  and  dearer  he  became 
to  us.  In  America  and  Europe  he  is  recognized  as  an  illus 
trious  example  of  the  results  of  free  institutions.  Hifr 
career  shows  what  can  be  accomplished  where  all  a  venues 
are  open,  and  exertion  is  untrammeled. 

Our  annals  afford  no  such  incentive  to  youth  as  does  his 
life;  and  it  will  become  one  of  the  Kepublic's  household: 
stories.  No  boy,  in  poverty  almost  hopeless,  thirsting  for 
knowledge,  meets  an  obstacle  which  Garfield  did  not  expe 
rience  and  overcome.  No  youth,  despairing  in  darkness,, 
feels  a  srloom  wnich  he  did  not  dispel. 

No  young  man  filled  with  honorable  ambition  can  en 
counter  a  difficulty  which  he  did  not  meet  and  surmount- 


168  THE  HOUSEHOLD  STORY. 

For  centuries  to  come  great  men  will  trace  their  rise  from 
humble  origins  to  the  inspirations  of  that  lad,  who  learned 
to  read  by  the  light  of  a  pine-knot  in  a  log  cabin;  who* 
ragged  and  barefooted,  trudged  along  the  tow-path  of  the 
canal;  and,  without  ancestry  behind  to  impel  him  forward, 
without  money  or  affluent  relations,  without  friends  or 
assistance,  by  faith  in  himself  and  in  God,  became  the 
most  scholarly  and  best-equipped  statesman  of  his  time  — 
one  of  the  foremost  soldiers  of  his  country,  the  best  debater 
in  the  strongest  of  deliberate  bodies,  the  leader  of  his  p;irty 
and  the  Chief  Magisrate  of  fifty  millions  of  people  before 
lie  was  fifty  years  of  age. 

We  are  not  here  to  question  the  ways  of  Providence. 
Our  prayers  were  not  answered  as  we  desired,  though  the 
•volume  and  fervor  of  our  importunity  seemed  resistlesa; 
<but  already,  behind  the  partially-lifted  veil,  we  see  the  fruits 
of  the  sacrifice.  Old  wounds  are  healed  and  fierce  lends 
forgotten.  Vengeance  and  passion,  which  have  survived  the 
ibest  statesmanship  of  twenty  years,  are  dispelled  by  a  com 
mon  sorrow.  Love  follows  sympathy.  Over  this  open  grave 
the  cypress  and  willow  are  indissolubly  entwined,  and  into  it 
.are  buried  sectional  differences  and  hatreds.  The  North  and 
the  South  rise  from  bended  knees  to  embrace  in  the  brother- 
liood  of  a  common  people  and  reunited  country.  Not  this 
alone,  but  the  humanity  of  the  civilized  world  has  been 
•quickened  and  elevated,  and  the  English-spea  ing  people 
are  nearer  to-day  in  peace  and  unity  than  ever  before. 

There  is  no  language  in  which  petitions  have  not  arisen 
for  Garfield's  life,  and  no  clime  where  tears  have  not  fallen 
for  his  death.  The  Queen  of  the  proudest  of  nations,  for 
the  first  time  in  our  recollection,  brushes  aside  the  formal 
ities  of  diplomacy,  and  descending  from  the  throne,  speaks 
for  her  own  and  the  hearts  of  all  JILT  people*,  in  the  cable 
to  the  afflicted  wife,  which  says:  "Myself  and  my  children 
mourn  with  you." 


A  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 


BY  REY.  T.  K.  NOBLE — Department  Chaplain  of  the  Grand  Army  of 

the  Republic. 


Delivered  In  San  Francisco,  at  the  Memorial  Service  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  Sept.  25, 188L 

41  Know  ye  not  that  there  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man  fallen?"— II  Samuel,  3:38. 

As  I  stand  in  your  presence  to-night,  my  comrades,  there 
rises  before  me  a  Dantean  picture  of  the  touching  scene  it 
was  my  lot  to  witness  in  the  general  hospital  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  on  that  awful  day  when  the  news  reached 
us  that  our  beloved  Lincoln  had  been  foully  murdered. 
.Only  seven  days  before,  it  had  been  the  privilege  of  those 
thousands  of  maimed  and  sick  soldiers  to  look  into  his 
rugged  but  kindly  face  and  feel  the  hearty  pressure  of  his 
honest  hand,  and  when  the  tidings  came  that  he  had  been 
shot  down  like  a  dog,  those  bronzed  and  war- hardened  vet 
erans,  raged  like  madmen,  and  then  cried  like  children. 
This  picture,  dark  as  it  is,  has  been  duplicated,  and  in  a 
period  of  profound  peace.  Despite  a  nation's  wrath  and  a 
nation's  woe,  in  less  than  a  score  of  years,  we  are  again 
smitten  by  a  common  blow,  and  bowed  by  a  common  grief. 
A  dutiful  son,  a  devoted  husband,  a  revered  father,  a  ripe 
scholar,  a  pure  patriot,  a  sagacious  statesman  and  a  godly 
ruler  has  succumbed  at  last,  after  seventy-nine  days  of 
patient  suffering  to  the  bullet  of  the  assassin,  and  strong 
men  again  have  been  crying  in  our  streets.  The  Nation  has 

(169) 


170  A  MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE. 

lost  its  head,  the  people  their  President,  and  we  of  the 
Grand  Army  a  comrade,  honored  and  beloved.  To  use  the 
words  which  Shakespeare  puts  in  the  mouth  of  Macbeth : 

"this  Duncan 

Hath  borne  his  faculties  so  meek,  hath  been 
So  clear  in  his  great  office,  that  his  virtues 
Will  plead  like  angels,  trumpet-tongued,  against 
The  deep  damnation  of  his  taking  off.1* 

HIS  NOBLE    LIFE. 

But  we  are  in  God's  house  to-night,  not  to  give  utterance 
to  useless  invective,  or  expression  to  unavailing  sorrow. 
The  hour  can  be  better  spent  in  meditating  upon  his  noble 
life  and  its  inspiring  lessons.  And  so  I  reiterate  this  old 
question  of  Holy  Writ,  "  Know  ye  not  that  there  is  a  prince 
and  a  great  man  fallen  ? "  If  we  will  rise  to  some  just  concep 
tion  of  his  greatness,  we  must  weigh  his  record  as  a  man,  a 
patriot,  a  statesman  and  a  Christian  ruler.  Look,  first  of  all, 
at  his  greatness  as  a  man,  a  man  among  men,  and  a  man  of 
the  common  people.  Born  in  a  rude  log  cabin,  a  true  son 
of  the  soil,  his  father  a  farmer,  his  elder  brother  a  farmer, 
and  his  two  sisters  the  wives  of  farmers,  his  superb  phys 
ique  inherited  from  robust  ancestors,  was  magnificently 
developed  by  hard  labor  in  the  open  air  and  at  the  work 
bench  of  the  carpenter's  shop. 

Who  that  has  ever  looked  upon  him  will  ever  forget  his 
manly  presence  ?  The  tall,  but  well  rounded  frame,  the 
broad  shoulders,  the  massive  head,  the  full  face,  the  clear 
blue  eye,  the  kindly  look,  the  affable  and  friendly  ways,  all 
these  "  bespoke  elements  so  mixed  in  him  that  nature  might 
stand  up  and  say  to  all  the  world,  thi-s  was  a  man  !"  Not 
a  man  of  lead,  heavy,  dull,  cold  and  unelastic  ;  nor  a  man 
of  iron,  stern,  hard,  implacable  and  unattractive,  but  a  man 
of  steel,  firm,  but  at  the  same  time  flexible,  tenacious,  but 
also  tractile,  and  with  all  his  powers  and  faculties  so  tem 
pered  and  refined  that  whatever  position  in  life  he  was 


A   MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE.  171 

called  to  fill,  he  always  rose  equal  to  the  demands  of  the  hour. 
Whether  as  a  toiler  upon  the  farm  of  his  father,  or  us  a 
driver  of  horses  upon  the  canal,  or  as  a  teacher  in  our  public 
schools,  or  as  President  of  a  College,  or  as  a  preacher  of  the 
Gospel  of  Peace,  or  as  a  General  on  the  field  of  war,  or  us  a 
Kepresentative  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  or  as  President  of 
fifty  millions  of  people,  by  his  ability,  versatility  and  fidel 
ity  he  has  won  imperishable  honor  as  the  fairest  and  finest 
representative  of  American  manhood. 

The  speaker  then  proceeded  to  review  at  length  President 
Garfield's  greatness  as  a  patriot  and  a  statesman — calling 
public  attention  to  the  larger  service  rendered  by  him  while 
a  member  of  Congress,  and  to  the  wisdom,  firmness  and 
high  manliness  displayed  by  him  during  his  brief  occupancy 
of  the  Presidential  chair. 

THE  PRESIDENT'S  RELIGION. 

He  then  said:  I  should  be  recreant  to  my  duty  as  a 
Christian  minister,  did  I  not,  on  this  memorial  occasion, 
direct  your  thoughts  to  our  dead  comrade's  beautiful  loy 
alty  to  God,  as  well  as  to  his  large  services  to  men.  Never 
let  it  be  forgotten  that  this  noble  life,  which  bore  such 
blessed  fruit,  was  rooted  in  Christian  soil.  It  was  Chris 
tian  blood  that  flowed  in  his  veins.  It  was  a  Christian 
mother  that  bore  him.  It  was  a  Christian  wife  that  minis 
tered  to  him.  It  was  a  Christian  home  that  sheltered  him, 
and  it  was  a  Christian  church  of  which  he  was  a  faithful 
and  consistent  member.  His  Bible  was  the  Christian's 
Bible,  and  his  God  the  Christian's  God,  and  no  day  passed 
in  which  he  did  not,  with  bowed  head,  invoke  the  Divine 
blessing  upon  his  home  and  upon  the  dear  country  of  his 

life. 

Even  in  his  youth,  while  camping  out  with  a  few  chosen 
companions,  before  the  fire  dies  down,  he  takes  from  his 
pocket  a  well-worn  Bible,  reads  a  chapter  aloud,  and  then, 


172  A   MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE. 

kneeling  under  the  solemn  stars,  reverently  commends  him 
self  and  his  young  friends  to  the  God  of  his  fathers.  It  was 
this  spirit  of  whole-souled  loyalty  to  God  that  made  our 
dead  President  so  grandly  great — great  in  peace,  great  in 
war,  great  in  the  sick  chamber,  and  great  in  the  presence 
of  death.  For,  as  Carlyle  has  said,  "The  chief  question  to 
be  asked  of  a  man  or  of  a  nation  is,  What  was  their  re 
ligion  ?"  Answering  this  question,  he  adds,  "Give  us  the 
soul  of  their  history,  for  the  thoughts  they  had  were  the 
parents  of  the  actions  they  did,  and  their  feelings  were  the 
parents  of  their  thoughts,  and  it  is  the  interior  and  spirit 
ual  that  determines  the  outward  and  actual." 

I  repeat  it,  ray  comrades,  it  was  our  dead  President's 
stanch  loyalty  to  God,  that  made  him  so  truly  great.  This 
it  was  that  imparted  to  his  soul  that  lofty  courage,  that  se 
rene  and  beautiful  equipoise  of  spirit,  that  is,  the  admira 
tion  of  the  world.  "  It  will  strike  hard,"  he  said  to  his  col 
lege  classmates,  at  the  time  of  his  inauguration.  "It  will 
strike  hard,  this  mountain  wave  of  political  animosity," 
but  he  was  anchored  to  his  God,  and  in  his  soul  there  was 
peace.  How  hard  it  did  strike,  only  the  lips  of  his  brave 
and  bereaved  wife  can  fully  tell,  and  the  unwritten  history 
of  those  awful  weeks  of  suffering  adequately  disclose.  But 
he  bore  it  with  such  knightly  fortitude,  such  Christian  pa 
tience,  such  unmurmuring  submission  to  the  will  of  the 
God  he  trusted,  that  it  has  touched  the  great  heart  of  human 
ity  in  every  quarter  of  the  habitable  globe.  And,  therefore 
to-night,  as  he  lies  in  the  repose  of  death,  his  worn,  white  face 
turned  upward  to  those  calm  heights  where  sin  and  sor 
row  and  pain  are  never  known,  "where  the  wicked  cease 
from  troubling,  and  the  weary  are  at  rest," -all  Christen 
dom  is  mourning  him.  High  and  low,  rich  and  poor, 
learned  and  unlearned,  are  bowing  in  the  brotherhood  of  a 
common  bereavement.  It  is  our  sorrowful  privilege,  my 


A  MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE.  173 

comrades,  to  honor  him,  not  only  as  a  man  and  a  magis 
trate,  but  as  a  brother  beloved — a  faithful  member  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

And  so,  in  the  quiet  of  this  holy  Sabbath  evening,  we, 
the  shattered  remnants  of  this  great  fraternity,  have  come 
together  to  break  the  alabaster  box  of  our  honest  affection 
over  our  dead  comrade,  and  to  anoint  him  for  his  burial 
"  He  has  fought  a  good  fight,  he  has  finished  his  course,  he 
has  kept  the  faith."  He  has  entered  into  the  joy  of  his 
Lord.  In  company  with  our  revered  Washington,  and  our 
martyred  Lincoln,  sacred  triumvirate  of  noble  souls,  he  wi.l 
live  forever  in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people,  as  a  man 
without  guile,  a  patriot  without  selfishness,  a  statesman 
without  corruption,  and  a  President  without  fear. 

THE  LESSONS  OF  HIS  LIFE. 

And  now,  what  are  the  lessons  which  ought  to  be  drawn 
from  our  dead  comrade's  shining  career?  Among  the  many 
which  press  hard  for  recognition  I  name  but  three:  First 
of  all,  are  we  not  admonished  afresh  of  the  inherent  excel 
lence  of  the  American  ideas  and  institutions  which  made 
possible  the  character  and  career  of  James  A.  Gartield?  In 
what  other  land  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  do  we  behold  an 
open  highway,  leading  from  the  rude  cabin  of  a  pioneer 
farmer  up  to  the  Executive  Mansion  of  a  mighty  nation? 
Where  but  in  America  do  we  see  all  the  supreme  prizes  of 
life  actually  within  the  reach  of  the  poorest  and  humblest? 
Where  but  in  this  dear  land  of  our  fathers  do  we  find  a  free 
government,  and  a  free  church,  and  a  free  press,  and  free 
speech,  and  free  schools?  I  know  it  is  the  fashion  of  the 
times  to  epeak  lightly  of  these  prerogatives  of  the  Ameri 
can  people,  and  I  do  not  forget  that  they  have  been  abused, 
like  other  good  things  of  earth. 

But  men  do  not  gather  grapes  of  thorns,    nor  figs   of 


174  A   MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE. 

thistles.  And  when  I  look  upon  the  grand  outcome  of  these 
ideas  and  institutions,  as  exhibited  by  our  dead  President, 
and  also,  I  may  add,  by  his  predecessors  in  the  high  office> 
I  discern  new  significance  in  these  old  ideas  which  our 
fathers  died  to  establish,  and  their  sons  to  maintain,  and  I 
find  myself  saying,  in  the  strong  language  of  Israel's  King, 
44  If  i  forget  thee,  oh,  my  country,  let  my  right  hand  forget 
its  cunning,  and  let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my 
mouth." 

The  second  lesson  of  our  comrade's  noble  life — what  i8 
it  but  this:  the  inexpressible  importance  to  our  dear  country 
of  Christian  homes — homes  where  the  husband  loves  the 
wife  as  Christ  the  Church,  and  the  wife  reverences  the  hus 
band  with  the  sweet  reverence  of  love;  homes  where  child 
ren  are  taught  to  obey  their  parents  "  In  the  Lord,  because 
it  is  right;"  homes  in  which,  as  the  shadows  of  evening 
fall,  the  household  are  gathered  together,  the  word  of  Life 
is  read,  and  the  priest,  the  husband  and  father  prays.  If 
it  were  possible  for  the  spirit  of  our  departed  President  to 
speak  to  us  to-night,  I  believe  his  message  would  be  that 
America's  supreme  need  is  Christian  homes  like  that  in 
which  his  own  young  life  ripened  into  such  symmetrical 
and  beautiful  completeness. 

And  now,  as  we  go  forth  into  the  world,  let  us  take  with 
us  also  the  other  inspiring  lesson — the  ever- increasing  use 
fulness  and  the  ever- widen  ing  influence  of  a  genuinely 
unselfish  and  consecrated  life.  I  open  the  Word  of  God,  in 
which  I  arn  certain  to  find  the  very  heart  of  truth,  and  I 
there  read  that  "  the  path  of  the  just  is  as  a  shining  light, 
which  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day."  How 
impressively  is  this  truth  illustrated  in  the  life  of  our  Presi 
dent  !  Beginning  as  a  feeble  rush-light,  in  a  cabin  in  the 
West,  it  grew  brighter  and  brighter  as  the  years  went  by, 
illuminating  successively  the  common  school,  the  college, 


A  MAN  OF   THE  PEOPLE.  175 

the  field  of  battle,  the  halls  of  Congress,  and  the  capitol  of 
the  Nation,  sending  its  clear  and  steady  beams  over  the 
whole  land,  and  so  letting  this  light  shine,  that  men  every 
where  seeing  the  good  works  are  glorifying  their  Father  in 
heaven.  And  now,  that  the  thin  shade  of  the  earthly  tab 
ernacle  is  at  last  dissolved,  is  not  the  pure  spirit  shining 
with  a  brightness  and  beauty  and  chastened  radiance  that 
belongs  not  to  earth  but  to  heaven?  Faithful  over  a  few 
things,  he  is  made  ruler  over  many  things,  and  his  blessed 
life  is  filling  the  whole  world  with  fragrance.  Oh,  comrades 
and  friends,  is  not  the  voice  of  our  fallen  leader  speaking 
to  us  in  this  still  hour,  and  saying  to  us  calmly  and 
solemnly,  "  Follow  me  ever  as  I  have  followed  my  great 
Master,  Christ  I " 


A  LIFE  THAT  SHINES. 

BY  REY.  JAMES  FREEMAN  CLARKE,  D.D. 


Dellrered  In  the  Church  of  the  Disciples,  Boston,  Memorial  Sunday,  Sept  25, 188L 

"  But  the  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light,  that  shineth  more  and  more  ante 
the  perfect  day."— Proverb  4: 18. 

THE  long  trial  is  over;  the  great  suspense  is  at  an  end, 
and  our  whole-souled  and  loved  Chief  has  gone  from  us. 
The  civilized  world  which  has  watched  every  fluctuation  of 
the  sick  man's  pulse,  counted  every  throb,  and  asked  anx 
iously  every  day  for  his  welfare,  turns  sadly  back  to  its 
usual  avocations.  Another  name  is  written  among  the 
noble  army  of  martyrs;  another  hero  has  been  enrolled  on 
the  list  of  those  whom  this  people  reverences.  Henceforth 
the  memory  of  Garfield  will  stand  side  by  side  with  thoGe 
of  "Washington  and  Lincoln  as  one  of  the  he'roes  of  the 
Nation.  All  minds  and  hearts  throughout  the  world  are 
moved  simultaneously  by  one  sorrow  and  one  sympathy 
The  mourning  widow  has  condolence  and  sympathy  from 
all  the  nations  of  the  world,  and  has  stood  by  his  side  faith 
fully.  If  her  husband  had  remained  a  simple  teacher  in  an 
Ohio  academy  she  would  have  done  no  less;  she  could  have 
done  no  more. 

There  is  something  wonderful  and  almost  inexplicable  in 
this  expression  of  world-wide  sorrow.  In  imagination  we 
see  the  funeral  There  is  the  casket  surrounded  by  the 

(176) 


A   LIFE   THAT  SHINES.  177 

pall-bearers,  who  are  all  his  old  boyhood  friends.  Mrs. 
Garfield  passed  over  the  distinguished  gentlemen  who 
would  gladly  have  occupied  these  positions,  and  wisely 
chose  those  who  knew  him  earjiest.  After  them  follow  the 
wife,  the  mother  and  children,  the  faithful  friends,  the 
members  of  the  Cabinet  and  the  Governors  of  States; 
then  there  are  present  by  their  expressions  of  sincere  sor 
row,  the  Queen  of  England,  and  the  Empress  of  India,  the 
President  of  the  great  French  Republic,  the  Kings  of  Italy 
and  Belgium,  the  Parliament  of  Australia;  crowded  pub 
lic  meetings  in  every  city  and  town  in  England  send  also 
their  representatives.  All  these  we  see  in  our  minds  fol 
lowing  lovingly  and  reverently  the  body  of  this  man,  who 
had  no  prestige  except  that  which  he  won  by  his  own 
worth.  The  world  is  better  for  such  a  scene  as  this;  it  i& 
noble  to  see  that  in  such  an  hour 

"One  throb  of  nature  makes  the  whole  world  kin." 

We  see  that  the  world  is  not  so  bad  as  it  is  represented 
to  be,  when  such  a  wave  of  feeling  sweeps  over  it,  bearing 
all  classes  of  men  to  one  common  point  of  meeting.  Why 
is  it?  The  assassination  of  the  Czar,  the  ruler  of  a  mighty- 
empire,  created  no  such  feeling.  The  long  weeks  of  sick 
ness,  of  watching  with  untiring  interest,  may  have  some 
thing  to  do  with  it,  but  not  all.  He  was  a  patient  sufferer, 
but  so  were  others.  The  assassination  of  Lincoln  excited 
the  passion  of  grief,  but  this  universal  sorrowing  has  a  pro- 
founder  source.  It  has  been  argued  that  the  people  of 
this  Nation  can  have  no  feeling  of  loyalty  toward  a  govern 
ment  represented  by  a  man  chosen  from  among  themselves 
and  placed  at  their  head  by  their  own  votes.  It  is  not  the 
man  to  whom  they  are  loyal,  but  his  position.  The  place 
where  he  stands  is  their  ideal  position,  and  the  divinity 
which  hedges  it  round  is  not  his  personal  character,  but  the 
divinity  of  the  position  which  he  fills.  Whatever  is  good, 
12 


178  A   LIFE   THAT  SHINES. 

grand  and  beautiful  in  the  institutions  of  our  country  is 
represented  by  him,  and  if  he  leads  a  good  and  pure  life, 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  country,  then  he  is  beloved 
and  reverenced  with  a  love  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
country.  Such  was  he — our  martyred  chief.  Other  na 
tions  are  moved  by  the  sight  of  this  upright  man,  who 
stands  as  the  embodiment  of  the  great  hopes  and  future  of 
this  mighty  republic.  Whether  or  not  this  be  the  explana 
tion,  it  is  certain  that  this  is  a  remarkable  hour  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  Nation,  and  he  has  done  more  for  us  by  his 
death  than  he  would  by  living. 

His  death  has  extinguished  the  feeling  between  the 
North  and  South  and  made  them  one;  it  has  stilled  all 
animosity  against  him.  We  are  rejoiced  to  see  that  the 
Republican  and  Democratic  papers  which  opposed  the  pol 
icy  and  found  fault  with  the  administration  of  Garfield 
are  acknowledging  their  mistakes  openly;  it  is  a  mark  of 
strength  and  not  of  weakness.  If  his  death  shall  elevate 
the  tone  of  political  discussion,  it  will  not  have  been  in 
vain.  It  has  helped  to  make  mankind  one.  Every  noble 
life  which  thrills  the  world  with  a  common  feeling  tends 
to  unite  it,  and  goes  far  in  the  same  direction  with  the 
atonement  of  Christ.  The  blood  of  Lincoln  brought  men, 
before  estranged,  nearer  to  each  other;  the  blood  of  Gar- 
field  has  united  the  North  and  South  and  brought  the 
great  spheres  nearer  together. 

But  we  must  carry  this  sentiment  forward  toward  con 
viction.  The  principle  for  which  Garfield  died  was  that  of 
truth.  These  funeral  processions,  mourning  emblems  and 
eulogies  are  all  right  and  proper  as  far  as  they  go,  but  we 
must  not  stop  there  in  our  tribute.  The  best  monument 
which  we  can  raise  to  his  memory  is  to  carry  on  the  ideas 
and  principles  to  which  he  was  a  martyr.  It  may  be  urged 
that  the  assassin  was  crazy,  but  his  brain  was  filled  with  the 


A  LIFE  THAT  SHINES.  179 

notions  of  the  spoils  system,  and  it  was  in  opposing  that 
system  that  Gartield  died.  And  now  a  man  who  has  been 
known  in  the  past  as  a  supporter  of  that  system  has  taken 
his  place.  We  must  not  prejudge  him.  We  can  only 
hope  that  he  has  experienced  a  change  of  heart;  |5ut  what 
ever  he  does,  the  people  must  not  relax  their  vigilance; 
they  must  kill  the  spoils  system.  Hang  the  assassin  if 
they  will,  but  do  n't  stop  there.  A  system  well  organized 
and  well  carried  out  for  the  reform  of  the  civil  service  will 
be  the  best  monument  which  can  be  erected  to  the  memory 
of  Gartield. 

It  is  not  a  bad  thing  to  die  when  death  produces  such  re 
sults  as  these.  Garfield  was  happy  in  his  life,  in  his  home,  in 
his  mother,  in  his  wife,  his  church,  his  love  for  knowledge, 
his  wise  instructors;  he  was  happy,  too,  in  having  the  cour 
age  to  leave  these  blessings  to  tight  for  his  country;  he  was 
happy  in  his  good  sense,  his  sweet  temper,  his  sound  prin 
ciples;  but  he  was  especially  happy  in  the  opportunity  for 
death,  when  he  had  gained  all  and  lost  nothing.  His  life 
was  bright  and  without  a  spot;  his  death  was  opportune 
and  fortunate,  since  he  has  united  the  world  in  one  great 
sentiment  of  pity  and  reverence.  When  such  a  man  dies, 
it  is  not  death,  but  a  new  life. 


THE  IMMORTAL  NAME. 

BY  JUDGE  JOHN  P.  REA. 
Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Services  in  Minneapolis.  Minn.,  Sept.  2fi,  1881. 

JUST  one  week  ago,  way  down  by  the  sea,  the  wild  waves 
of  the  mighty  deep  moaning  their  sad  requiem  in  his  ears, 
the  grandest  soul  among  men  took  its  flight  from  earth  to 
heaven. 

This  afternoon  the  body  which  that  soul  animated,  enno 
bled  and  endeared  for  half  a  century,  was  laid  to  rest  on 
the  sloping  shores  that  were  his  home  by  the  lake  he  loved. 
Its  restless  murmuring  waters  are  singing  now  as  they 
will  continue  in  calm  or  storm  to  sing  forever,  nature's 
an  them  to  his  memory.  In  that  little  mound  looking  out 
upon  that  inland  sea,  he  sleeps.  There  angel  sentinels  be 
gin  to-night  their  ageless  watch  above  him.  There  by  his 
faith,  which  is  ours,  we  know  that  he  will  come  forth  in 
glory  when  the  reveille  of  eternity  sounds  the  dawn  of  im 
mortality's  morning. 

I  came  not  here  to  tell  what  James  A.  Garfield  did, 
the  world  knows  that  by  heart.  I  came  not  l^iere  to  mag 
nify  his  merits,  or  attempt  by  feeble  words  to  burnish  the 
dazzling  lustre  of  his  memory,  but  simply  to  lay  a  humble 
tribute  from  the  heart  upon  his  fresh  made  grave,  and  min 
gle  a  tear  with  those  who  weep  that  he  is  gone. 

(180) 


THE  IMMORTAL  NAME.  181 

How  feeble  are  words  to  express  the  emotions  of  the 
heart  when  stirred  to  the  depth  by  the  aggressive  force  of 
an  overwhelming  sorrow! 

What  pen  can  portray  the  anguish  of  a  soul  smitten  by 
the  hand  of  death?  What  language  can  convey  from  mind 
to  mind,  in  all  its  acuteness,  the  grief  that  revels  at  this 
hour  in  the  bosom  of  every  American? 

What  heart  here  but  feels  upon  its  plastic  walls  the 
ruthless  print  of  an  iron  hand?  What  ear  but  hears  in  the 
oppressive  air  about  it  the  rustling  of  the  black  wings? 
What  soul  but  feels  the  chilling  presence  of  the  inexorable 
angel  of  death?  Upon  what  a  scene  in  the  world's  drama 
the  curtain  falls  to-day  !  Across  the  land  draped  in  pall 
moves  the  funeral  cortege  of  America's  murdered  President. 
In  its  trains  are  fifty  million  broken-hearted  mourners. 
Ohivalric  soldiers  who  crossed  with  him  in  the  fiercest  con 
flict  of  the  centuries  are  there.  Proud  men  whom  he  met 
and  conquered  in  the  bitter  contests  of  the  political  arena 
are  there.  Humble  black  men  whom  he  helped  to  lift  from 
bondage  to  manhood  are  there.  The  rich  and  the  poor,  the 
-old  and  the  young,  the  high  and  the  low,  the  great  and  the 
humble,  all  are  there,  and  all — all  are  weeping.  All  are 
moved  by  a  common  love  and  stricken  by  a  common  sor 
row.  Children  strew  flowers  beneath  tli6  wheels  of  the  car 
that  bears  the  dead.  The  nations  stand  with  bowed  heads 
in  silent  sadness  while  the  mighty  procession  passes,  bear- 
in<r  to  its  tomb  the  lifeless  form  of  him  in  whom  was  cen 
tered  the  tenderest  love  of  the  republic  and  the  fondest  hope 
of  the  world.  The  proudest  Queen  of  Christendom  wipes 
the  tear  from  her  cheek  as  she  lays  her  floral  tribute  upon 
his  bier,  and  millions  of  peasants  in  humble  cots  on  moun 
tain  and  lowland  beyond  the  sea  feel  the  gloom  of  an  equal 
sadness  and  the  touch  of  as  tender  a  love.  Eyes  unused  to 


182  THE  IMMORTAL  NAME. 

weep  are  moistened.     All  humanity  is  in  tears — through 
them  its  great,  warm  heart  is  breaking. 

"Aye,  turn  and  weep :  'tis  manliness 

To  be  heart-broken  here, 
For  the  grave  of  earth's  best  nobleness 
Is  watered  by  the  tear." 

\Ve  mourn  not  so  much  the  loss  of  the  ruler,  as  the  death 
of  the  man.  Looking  through  our  tears  upon  his  matchless 
career,  the  lustre  of  his  triumphs  as  he  carves  his  way  from 
the  cabin  to  the  White  House,  dims  by  contrast  with  the 
golden  glory  that  floods  for  months  the  chamber  of  patient 
suffering,  of  unselfish  devotion,  of  conquered  agony,  where 
were  revealed  the  immeasurable  -possibility  of  man's  virtue 
and  the  unfathomable  depths  of  woman's  love.  Oh  !  with 
what  a  delicate  tenderness  humanity  will  treasure  away  in 
the  store-house  of  its  memory  the  sacred  incidents  of  loving 
self-denial  and  sublime  fortitude  that  sparkle  forth  like 
heavenly  gems  through  the  black  clouds  of  misery  which 
envelop  that  scene.  James  A.  Garfield  won  his  way  by 
no  art  but  the  true  one  of  meriting  honors.  He  commanded 
power  by  demonstrating  his  fitness  for  it.  In  its  exercise 
he  honors  his  country  and  his  kind. 

"  And  to  add  greater  honors  to  his  age 
Than  man  could  give,  he  died  fearing  God." 

Barefooted  orphan  boy,  delving  in  intellectual  mines  for 
the  treasures  of  power;  young  teacher  of  the  living  truths 
that  flash  down  the  centuries  from  the  martyr- crowned 
crest  of  Calvary;  heroic  soldier  of  freedom,  snatching  the 
inspiration  of  victory  from  the  gloom  of  defeat,  riding, 
king  of  the  battle-storm,  amid  the  death-revel  that  reigned 
supreme  in  the  tangled  fens  of  the  Ohickamauga;  boldt 
honest,  intelligent  legislator,  at  the  peril  of  popular  dis 
pleasure,  yielding  obedience  to  the  slightest  commands  of 
honor,  teaching  thy  countrymen  that  "  Aloft  on  the  throne 


THE  IMMORTAL  NAME.  183 

of  God,  and  not  below  in  the  fogtprints  of  a  trampling 
multitude,  are  the  sacred  rules  of  right,  which  no  majori 
ties  can  displace  or  overturn." 

Chosen  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  first  republic  of  the  world, 
standing  on  the  sunlit  portals  of  its  capitol,  in  the  full  flush 
of  new-born  power,  bending  to  imprint  the  kiss  of  filial  love 
on  the  shrunken,  shriveled  cheek  of  the  old  mother— show- 
in  o-  that  true  love  has  no  season  and  no  station;  champion 
of  liberty  and  law;  lover  of  country  and  man;  exemplar  of 
virtue;  teacher  above  all  others  of  the  limitless  possibilities 
of  reeti'tude  and  courage;  incomparable  President,  faithful 
husband,  tender  father,  loving  son:  Thy  name  shall  be  a 
household  word  to  millions  whose  existence  lies  in  the 
dreamy  realms  of  the  unborn  centuries.  We  mourn  thy 
tragic  end  !  We  behold  with  pride,  the  rising  superstruc 
ture  of  the  mighty  fabric  of  thy  fame.  We  cannot  tell 
"  thy  doom  without  a  sigh,"  and  yet  we  know  that 

"Thou  art  Freedom's  now  and  Fame's, 
One  of  the  few  immortal  names 
That  were  not  born  to  die," 


THE  ILLUSTRIOUS  DEAD. 


BY  SENATOR  VOORHEES. 

Delivered  in  the  Opera  House,  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  Sept.  21, 1881. 

MR.  MAYOR  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS: — I  cannot  remain 
«ilent  on  such  an  occasion  as  this. 

All  that  is  mortal  of  him,  who  a  few  hours  ago  was  the 
living  head  of  the  most  powerful  government  on  the  globe, 
now  lies  cold  and  still  in  death.  The  sounds  and  em 
blems  of  mourning  are  encircling  the  earth  §  to-day. 
Throughout  the  boundaries  ot  the  Republic,  the  bells  are 
tolling  for  the  illustrious  dead,  and  following  the  track  of 
the  sun,  wherever  the  dread  intelligence  finds  the  Ameri 
can  flag,  whether  on  the  stately  squadron,  or  coasting 
schooner  ;  whether  over  the  proud  embassy,  or  the  hum 
ble  consulate,  there  it  will  droop  at  half-mast,  and  its  bril 
liant  folds  will  be  shadowed  in  crape.  And  with  Ameri- 
•can  sorrow  will  be  mingled  the  sorrow  of  the  whole  civi 
lized  world.  Every  nation  will  be  a  mourner  at  this  sad 
dest  of  all  funerals  in  American  history. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  died  in  public,  with 
the  world  looking  on  from  hour  to  hour,  counting  his  pulse- 
beats  and  his  breathings,  and  in  all  the  long  tragedy  he 
faced  death  so  well,  bore  himself  so  manfully,  without  mur 
mur  of  complaint,  or  word  of  vengeance,  that  civilized  na- 

(184) 


THE  ILLUSTRIOUS  DEAD.  185 

tions  of  every  clime  and  kindred  will  stand  uncovered  as 
his  funeral  train  carries  him  back  to  his  beloved  Western 
home. 

Sir,  I  knew  James  A.  Garfield  well,  and  except  on  the 
political  field,  we  had  strong  sympathies  together.  It  is 
nearly  eighteen  years  since  we  first  met,  and  during  that 
period  I  had  the  honor  to  serve  seven  years  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  with  him.  I  have  been  asked,  in  this 
hour  of  universal  grief,  to  place  some  estimate  upon  his 
character.  The  kindness  of  his  nature,  and  his  mental  ac 
tivity,  were  his  leading  traits.  In  all  his  intercourse  with 
men,  women  and  children,  no  kinder  heart  ever  beat  in  hu 
man  breast  than  that  which  struggled  on  until  half-past  ten 
o'clock  Monday  night,  and  then  forever  stood  still.  There 
was  a  light  in  his  face,  a  chord  in  his  voice,  and  a  pressnre 
in  his  hand,  which  were  full  of  love  for  his  fellow  beings. 
His  manners  were  ardent  and  demonstrative  with  those  to 
whom  he  was  attached,  and  he  filled  the  private  circle  with 
sunlight  and  with  magnetic  currents.  He  had  the  joyous 
spirits  of  boyhood,  and  the  robust  intellectuality  of  man 
hood,  more  perfectly  combined  than  any  one  I  ever  knew. 

Such  a  character  was  necessarily  almost  irresistible  with 
those  who  knew  him  personally,  and  it  accounts  for  that 
undying  hold,  which,  under  all  circumstances  bound  his 
immediate  constituents  to  him,  as  with  hooks  of  steel. 
Such  a  nature,  however,  always  has  its  dangers  as  well  as 
its  strength,  and  its  blessings.  The  kind  heart  and  the 
open  hand  never  accompany  a  suspicious,  distrustful  mind. 
Designing  men  mark  such  a  character  for  their  own  selfish 
uses,  and  General  Garfield's  faults,  for  he  had  faults,  as  he 
was  human,  sprang  more  from  this  circumstance,  than 
from  all  others  combined.  He  was  prompt,  and  eager  to 
respond  to  the  wishes  of  those  he  esteemed  his  friends, 
whether  inside  or  outside  his  own  political  party. 


186  THE  ILLUSTRIOUS  DEAD. 

That  he  made  some  mistakes  in  his  long  and  busy  career 
is  but  repeating  the  history  of  every  generous  and  oblig 
ing  man  who  has  lived  and  died  in  public  life.  They  are 
not  such,  however,  as  are  recorded  in  heaven,  nor  will  they 
mar  or  weaken  the  love  of  his  countrymen.  The  poor, 
laboring  boy,  the  self-made  man,  the  hopeful,  buoyant 
soul  in  the  face  of  all  difficulties  and  odds,  constitute  an 
example  for  the  American  youth  which  will  never  be  lost 
nor  grow  dim. 

The  estimate  to  be  placed  on  the  intellectual  abilities  of 
General  Garn'eld*  must  be  a  very  high  one.  Nature  was 
bountiful  to  him,  and  his  improvements  were  extensive  and 
solid.  He  was  an  industrious,  judicious  student,  and  his 
rapidity  of  thought  and  activity  of  mind  were  at  times 
a:nazing.  He  grasped  a  subject  as  quickly  as  any  man  who 
ever  took  part  in  the  public  affairs  of  the  world.  He  had 
that  fine  mental  courage  which  shrinks  from  no  investiga 
tion.  His  acquirements  were  consequently  rich  and  vari 
ous.  If  I  might  make  a  comparison,  1  would  say  that 
with  the  exception  of  Jefferson  and  John  Quincy  Adams, 
he  was  the  most  learned  President,  in  what  is  written  in 
books,  in  the  whole  range  of  American  history.  This,  in 
my  judgment,  will  be  the  rank  assigned  him  in  the  histo 
ries  of  the  future.  oi.v-v 

The  Christian  character  of  General  Garfield  cannot,  with 
propriety,  be  omitted  in  a  glance,  however  brief,  at  his  re 
markable  career.  Those  who  knew  him  best  in  the  midst 
of  his  ambition  and  his  worldly  hopes,  will  not  fail  now 
at  his  tomb  to  bear  their  testimony  to  his  faith  in  God, 
and  his  love  for  the  teachings  of  the  blessed  Nazarene. 
Though  upon  the  summit  of  human  greatness,  he  avowed 
his  Master's  cause  and  accepted  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  in 
the  spirit  of  a  child.  His  chamber  of  death  adds  one 
more  conspicuous  illustration  of  the  serenity  and  peace 


THE  ILLUSTRIOUS  DEAD.  187 

with  which  a  Christian  meets  his  fate.  As  the  earth  with 
all  its  honors,  its  loves  and  its  hopes  receded  and  disap 
peared,  he  was  comforted  by  sights  and  sounds  which  this 
world  can  neither  give  nor  take  away. 

It  seems  but  yesterday  that  I  saw  him  last,  and  parted 
from  him,  in  all  the  glory  of  his  physical,  and  mental  man 
hood.  His  eye  was  full  of  light,  his  tread  elastic  and  strong, 
and  the  world  lay  bright  before  him.  He  talked  freely  of  pub 
lic  men  and  public  affairs.  His  resentments  were  like  sparks 
from  the  flint.  He  cherished  them  not  for  a  moment.  Speak 
ing  of  one  whom  he  thought  had  wronged  him,  he  said  to  me, 
that  sooner  or  later  he  intended  to  pour  coals  of  fire  on  his 
head  by  acts  of  kindness  to  some  of  his  kindred.  He  did 
not  live  to  do  so,  but  the  purpose  of  his  heart  has  been 
placed  to  his  credit  in  the  book  of  eternal  life. 

Sir,  as  to  the  public  measures,  and  the  recent  vivid  oc 
currences  connected  with  his  brief  administration,  I  am 
not  here  now  to  speak.  At  other  times,  and  in  another 
forum,  that  task  may  perhaps  be  required,  but  not  on  this 
occasion  of  grief  and  commemoration. 

General  Garfield's  career  at  the  head  of  the  Government 
was  sad,  stormy  and  tragic.  He  drank  a  bitter  cup  to  its 
dregs.  He  realized,  within  his  own  party,  in  fullest  meas 
ure,  the  harsh  reward  of  an  honorable  and  successful  ambi 
tion. 

"  He  who  ascends  to  mountain-tops  shall  find 

The  loftiest  peaks  most  wrapped  in  clouds  and  snow; 

He  who  surpasses  or  subdues  mankiud 
Must  look  down  on  the  hate  of  those  below. 

Though  high  above  the  sun  of  glory  glow, 
And  far  beneath  the  earth  and  ocean  spread, 

Round  him  are  icy  rocks,  and  loudly  blow 
Contending  tempests  on  his  naked  head, 
And  thus  reward  the  toils  which  to  those  summits  led.' 

But  at  last  he  has  found  rest  and  peace,  the  rest  and 
peace  of  eternity  to  a  Christian  soul.  As  President,  loving 
husband  and  father,  affectionate  son,  and  faithful  friend, 


188  THE  ILLUSTRIOUS  DEAD. 

he  will  walk  this  earth  no  more.  Alas!  how  pathetic  was 
his  death.  At  the  high  noon  time  of  life,  not  quite  fifty 
years  of  age,  with  a  career  already  made,  which  would  read 
like  romance  in  any  other  country  than  this,  and  with  a 
mission  just  before  him  in  which  he  believed,  and  for 
which  he  longed  to  live,  he  fell  by  the  hand  of  a  wretch 
who  had  voted  for  him,  and  wanted  some  poor  office  in  re 
turn.  And  then  the  long  struggle  with  slowly  approach 
ing,  but  certain  death!  Whose  eye  has  not  wept,  'as  the 
brave  man  was  seen  during  the  last  eighty  dreadful  days, 
fighting  his  last  great  battle,  and  fighting  it  in  vain?  Like 
the  strong  swimmer  in  the  surf  of  the  sea,  striving  for  the 
shore,  he  sometimes  seemed  to  be  nearing  a  point  of  safety, 
but  with  each  ebbing  wave  he  was  carried  further  out,  un 
til  at  last  he  was  gone  forever  from  our  anxious  gaze  on 
that  tide  which  breaks  alone  on  the  high  shores  of  immor 
tality. 

How  gladly  would  a  million  of  lives  have  been  ventured 
for  his  rescue  ;  but  it  could  not  be,  and  we  bow  our  heads 
and  our  hearts  in  helpless  submission.  May  God  in  his 
loving  mercy  have  the  bereaved  wife  and  the  orphaned 
children  in  His  holy  keeping. 

I  have  no  heart  now  to  speak  of  the  future  administra 
tion  of  the  government.  I  have  faith  in  the  American 
people,  and  all  will  be  well.  They  are  a  source  of  power 
and  of  safety  within  themselves,  and  they  can  be  trusted 
that  no  harm  shall  happen  to  the  Republic.  He  who  takes 
the  place,  under  the  Constitution,  of  the  dead  President, 
has  my  profound  sympatlry,  and  he  will  have  my  earnest 
support  in  all  his  efforts,  to  promote  the  welfare  and  glory 
of  our  common  and  beloved  country. 


AN  UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE. 


t  '  BY  REV.  G.  H.  WELLS. 

Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Services  In  Montreal,  Canada,  Sept.  26, 1881.  In  the  pul 
pit  were  Revs.  Gavin  Lang,  Dr.  Sullivan,  Dr.  Clarke,  H.  Johnston,  Dr.  Stevenson, 
J.  S.  Black  and  W.  S.  Barnes,  On  the  platform  in  front  of  the  pulpit  were  the 
Lord  Bish  p  of  Montreal,  Revs.  Dr.  McVicar,  Canon  Baldwin,  Dr.  Ussher,  Prof. 
fcShaw,  J.  L.  Forster,  W.  W.  Jubb,  A.  B.  Mackay,  Prof.  Conssirat,  E.  A.  Stafford,  — 
Mallory,  J.  Nichols,  and  others. 

MY  FRIENDS: — We  share  a  universal  grief  to-day.  The 
American  Nation  Jbears  its  fallen  President  to  his  last  rest 
ing-place,  and  the  whole  race  of  man  forgets  its  differences 
and  becomes  a  brotherhood  beside  his  grave.  The  world 
has  never  seen  a  spectacle  like  this.  The  lines  of  country 
and  of  race  seem  blotted  out. 

It  naturally  reminds  us  of  that  former  gloomy  hour 
when,  sixteen  years  ago,  Lincoln  fell  by  the  assassin's  hand. 
But  there  was  difference  of  feeling  then,  both  in  his  own 
and  other  lands.  There  is  no  division  in  opinion  or  emo 
tion  now.  The  world  is  one  in  condemnation  of  the  deed 
and  sorrow  for  his  death.  There  have  been  many  reasons 
for  this  fact. 

The  growing  intercourse  and  unity  of  men  never  so 
deeply  felt  before;  the  sympathy  awakened  by  the  Presi 
dent's  long  suffering  and  his  heroic  fight  for  life,  the  perfect 
causelessness  and  madness  of  the  crime  have  been  large 
features  in  this  grand  result.  But,  quite  beyond  these 

(189) 


190        ^LV  UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE. 

things,  there  has  been,  too,  a  feeling  which  deepened  as  the 
weeks  went  by,  and  fuller  light  was  thrown  upon  the  case, 
until  it  ripened  to  conviction  at  the  last,  that  the  patient 
sufferer  was  a  remarkable  man,  one  of  earth's  truly  noble 
and  worthy  sons — a  man,  who,  quite  aside  from  his  exalted 
place  and  his  tragic  fate,  deserved  the  high  esteem  of  men, 
and  whose  death  would  be  a  general  and  heavy  loss.  A 
distinct,  and  important  element  in  the  great  grief,  is  a 
tribute  paid  to  his  distinguished  character  and  marvelous 
career.  Men  feel  that  there  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man 
fallen  this  day  in  Israel,  and  they  mourn  for  him  as  for  a 
master  and  beloved  chief.  And  this  belief  is  amply  justified 
by  all  the  facts. 

For  some  weeks  past  the  world  has  been  watching,  and 
while  they  wondered  at  his  gentleness  and  courage,  they 
have  searched  his  record  in  the  past,  and  the  more  they 
have  become  acquainted  with  him  the  more  have  they  ad 
mired  and  approved.  No  life  could  be  more  closely  scanned 
than  his  has  been  with  the  keen  vision  of  partisan  political 
feeling,  as  well  as  witli  the  gentler  eye  of  pity,  and  no  life 
ever  bore  the  ordeal  better,  or  came  forth  with  purer  fame. 
A  calm  review  and  candid  estimate  would  rank  him  high 
among  the  great,  good  men.  Think  for  a  moment  of  his 
course,  from  the  birth  in  a  little  clearing  among  the  forests 
on  the  wild  frontier — the  humble  home,  so  poor  it  some 
times  lacked  for  necessary  bread.  His  boyhood's  hard  and 
scantily  rewarded  toil,  his  small  advantages  of  schools,  and 
all  the  obstacles  and  hardships  that  hedged  about  his  youth. 
Remember  that  he  was  a  farm  laborer,  a  wood  chopper,  a 
salt  worker  and  a  canal  driver,  in  those  days.  And  that, 
when  yearning  after  something  better  for  both  heart  and 
mind,  lie  began  a  religious  life,  and  entered  on  a  course  of 
study,  he  was  compelled  to  struggle  long  and  hard  with 
poverty  before  he  could  attain  the  end. 


% 


AN   UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE.  191 

His  generous  brother,  and  his  almost  more  than  human 
mother,  gave  him  $17  for  his  first  term  in  the  Academy,  and 
he  made  it  suffice  by  sleeping  on  the  floor  and  cooking  his 
own  food.  In  the  vacation  he  earned  $25  by  cutting  100 
cords  of  wood,  to  meet  his  next  term's  needs,  and  felt  pas 
sing  rich  because  he  could  afford  to  board.  In  the  Colle 
giate  Institute  he  did  the  work  of  janitor,  and  afterwards 
of  tutor,  as  well  as  that  of  pupil,  and  gained  a  local  fame 
as  preacher  and  a  speaker  at  political  gatherings  besides. 

After  graduating  at  an  Eastern  college  among  the  high 
est  in  his  class,  he  returned  home  to  be  a  professor  and  soon 
President  in  the  institution  where  he  had  been  janitor  six 
years  before,  and  by  his  excellence  in  teaching  lifted  it  at 
once  to  favor,  and  proved  that  he  would  become  a  great 
educator — the  Arnold  or  the  Taylor  of  the  West,  if  he  con 
tinued  in  the  work.  His  admiring  neighbors  soon  called 
him  to  public  service,  and  he  began  his  long  political  career 
in  the  Ohio  Senate,  of  which  he  was  the  youngest  member, 
as  still  later  he  was  the  youngest  general  in  the  army,  and 
still  later  the  youngest  member  of  the  National  Congress. 

He  "  let  no  man  despise  his  youth,"  but  was  at  once 
acknowledged  in  all  these  places  as  standing  in  the  foremost 
rank.  In  the  war  he  was  an  able  and  successful  general,  he 
was  repeatedly  promoted  for  gallantry,  and  eminent  services, 
and  might  have  risen  to  still  higher  place  and  won  the 
name  of  a  great  commander  had  not  his  friends  elected  him 
to  Congress,  and  President  Lincoln  urged  that  he  could 
serve  his  country  better  in  Washington  than  at  the  front. 
As  member,  first  of  the  Committee  of  Military  Affairs, 
where  his  experience  in  the  army  gave  his  counsels  special 
worth,  and,  after  the  war,  on  the  Committee  of  Ways  and 
Means,  which  deals  with  the  whole  matter  of  revenue,  and 
once  more  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Appropria 
tions,  which  recommends  and  supervises  the  expenditures 


192        AN  UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE. 

of  Govern  in  en  t,  at  a  time  when  the  annual  outlay  reached 
the  sum  of  $300,000,000,  he  served  his  country  in  putting 
down  rebellion  and  in  defending  the  national  honor  and 
good  name. 

Last  year,  at  the  Chicago  Convention,  he  led  the  delega 
tion  from  his  State,  and  urged  the  nomination  of  Secretary 
Sherman  in  a  noble  speech,  and  he  continued  loyal  to  his 
friend  until  all  further  strife  was  vain  and  he  saw  the 
choice  of  the  convention  was  about  to  fall  upon  himself. 
Through  the  excited  canvass  that  ensued  he  bore  himself 
with  dignity  and  delicacy  that  were  as  beautiful  as  they 
were  rare.  He  never  trumpeted  his  cause  nor  advocated 
his  own  claims,  but  retained  his  friendship  with  many  in 
the  opposing  party,  and  kept  the  picture  of  the  rival  candi- 
didate  hanging  in  his  home  throughout  the  whole  cam 
paign. 

As  President,  he  took  the  seat  that  had  been  made  illus 
trious  by  Washington  and  Lincoln,  and  many  other  noble 
men,  and  has  so  filled  it  during  these  few  months  as  to  in 
vest  it  with  new  honors,  and  to  make  it  still  more  famous 
in  the  time  to  come.  But  who  can  worthily  describe  his 
conduct  through  these  weeks  of  weary  agony,  while  trem 
bling  in  the  balance  between  hope  and  fear,  and  watching 
at  the  very  gates  of  death?  His  heroism  here  has  beauti 
fully  closed,  and  crowned  his  whole  career.  He  has  shown 
how  a  man  may  sjand  sustained  in  every  sphere  of  public 
life;  he  has  shown  now  how  a  man  may  die  without  a  fear, 
My  friends,  the  person  who  has  done  this  and  yet  has  died 
before  the  age  of  fifty  years,  is  surely  of  no  common  clay 
or  mould.  He  had  been  tested  on  every  side  and  every* 
where  found  strong  and  true.  Weighed  in  many  balances, 
he  was  not  found  wanting. 

Still  more  besides  his  active  labors  he  found  time  for 
quiet  study  and  research.  He  was  a  wide  reader,  a  pro- 


AN  UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE.        193 

found  thinker,  an  accomplished  scholar.  He  loved  best  to 
grapple  with  the  great  questions  that  belong  to  the  national 
welfare,  and  affect  the  universal  good.  He  had  mastered 
history  of  both  ancient  and  modern  times.  He  was  deeply 
versed  in  literature,  both  classical  and  recent.  He  kept 
pace  with  the  discoveries  of  the  present,  and  was  an  inti- 
mate  friend  of  such  scientists  as  Agassiz  and  Henry.  He 
was  a  largely  gifted,  a  richly  stored,  a  ripely  cultured  man, 
who  would  have  honored  any  age,  and  graced  the  choicest 
fellowship  of  mind. 

And  if  we  inquire  for  the  finer  moral  qualities  of  heart, 
we  shall  find  him  still  more  rich  in  these.  He  was  a  sing 
ularly  just,  upright,  affectionate  and  simple-minded  man. 
He  never  asked  an  office  or  promotion  in  his  life.  Not  that 
he  lacked  ambition,  for  he  had  as  much  of  it  as  any  great 
man  should.  He  hoped  that  he  might  sometime  be  pre 
pared  to  serve  his  country  in  high  places — but  others'  esti 
mate  of  him  invariably  outran  his  own,  and  before  he  was 
ready  for  it,  honor  came.  When  it  was  proposed  to  send 
him  to  the  State  Senate,  he  said:  "If  you  elect  me  I  will 
serve,  but  it  must  be  entirely  without  my  assistance."  He 
was  nominated  and  chosen  to  Congress  while  absent  in  the 
army  and  without  being  consulted  in  the  matter.  When, 
after  many  years  of  service  as  a  representative,  he  might 
have  been  elected  to  the  Senate,  remained  at  the  request  of 
President  Hayes  to  be  administration  leader  in  the  lower 
house.  When  he  saw  he  was  to  be  nominated  at  Chicago 
he  said:  "I  feel  as  if  my  death-warrant  had  been  signed  ; 
I  had  thought  I  would  like  some  time  to  be  President,  but 
I  have  just  been  chosen  to  the  Senate,  and  might  hope  for 
many  happy,  useful  years  of  labor  there,  but  as  ex-Presi 
dent  I  shall  be  shut  out  from  public  life." 

In  his  case,  the  man  never  sought  the  office,  but  that 
ideal  of  patriotic  philosophy  was  found,  in  which  the  office 

13 


194  AN   UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE. 

always  sought  the  man.  He  sat  in  Congress  for  his  na 
tive  district,  the  19th  of  Ohio.  It  is  a  region  in  the  north 
eastern  corner  of  the  State,  called  the  Western  Reserve,  or 
sometimes  New  Connecticut.  It  was  settled  largely  by 
New  England  settlers,  and  has  always  been  distinguished 
for  high  intelligence  and  moral  worth.  Joshua  R.  Gid- 
dings,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  anti-slavery  conflict,  had* 
been  its  representative  for  twenty-five  years.  Here  Presi 
dent  Garfield  had  been  born,  and  always  had  his  home, 
most  loved  and  trusted  by  his  neighbors,  who  knew  him 
best,  and  here  he  will  to-day  be  buried  in  the  beautiful  ceme 
tery  that  overlooks  the  heaving  lake.  This  district  and  its 
representative  in  Congress  were  mutually  fond  and  proud  of 
one  another,  but  differences  sometimes  arose. 

Some  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  the  greenback  her 
esy  had  risen,  times  were  hard,  and  taxes  heavy,  and  some 
even  among  the  honest  people  of  Ohio  imagined  that  some 
easier  method  might  be  found.  Garfield  returned  from 
Europe  to  find  these  opinions  prevalent,  and  when  he  was 
to  speak  at  a  reception  tendered  him,  some  of  his  friends 
urged  him  to  say  nothing  on  the  subject,  lest  he  might  in 
jure  his  chances  in  the  nominating  convention  that  was  soon 
to  meet.  There  was  no  special  need  for  him  to  speak,  but 
he  would  not  keep  silent,  when  silence  might  be  miscon 
strued,  and  he  attacked  the  vital  point  at  stake.  He  said: 
"  My  friends,  much  as  I  value  your  opinions,  I  here  de 
nounce  this  theory  that  lias  worked  into  this  State,  as  dis 
honest,  unwise  and  unpatriotic;  and,  if  I  were  offered  a  nom 
ination  and  election  for  my  natural  life  from  this  district,  on 
this  platform,  I  should  spurn  it.  If  you  should  ever  raise 
the  question  of  re-nominating  me,  let  it  be  understood  that 
you  can  have  my  services  only  on  the  ground  of  the  honest 
payment  of  this  debt  and  of  these  bonds  in  coin,  according 
to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  contract." 


AN  UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE.  19-r> 

Fortunately  for  themselves  the  people  could  appreciate 
his  courage,  and  when  the  convention  met  he  was  re-nomi 
nated  by  acclamation.  In  one  political  address  he  said: 
"  I  wish  to  adopt  doctrines  that  will  endure.  I  should  like 
to  hold  a  belief  that  will  live  longer  than  I  shall  live,  and 
that  my  children  alter  me  might  believe  as  true,  and  say, 
4  this  doctrine  is  true  now,  and  it  was  true  fifty  years  ago, 
when  my  father  adopted  it.' >:  But  after  all,  it  was  in  pri 
vate  and  domestic  life  that  he  was  best.  Not  many  men 
seem  greatest  to  those  most  intimately  acquainted  with 
them,  but  one  who  knew  the  President  well,  has  told  me 
that  he  never  seemed  to  him  so  truly  great  as  when  sitting 
by  his  own  fireside  and  holding  converse  with  his  nearest 
friends.  His  power  of  friendship  was  remarkable. 

His  regard  for  President  Hopkins  of  Williams'  College, 
where  he  studied,  a  gredt  man  and  a  great  inspirer  of  youth, 
was  beautiful  in  the  extreme.  Once  the  subject  of  the  im 
portance  of  enlarging  the  library  and  the  collections  was 
discussed;  when  asked  for  his  opinion,  he  said:  "Gentlemen, 
books  and  cabinets  are  very  good,  but  put  me  in  a  log  cabin 
with  only  one  rude  bench,  and  seat  Mark  Hopkins  on  one 
end  of  it  and  let  me  sit  upon  the  other,  and  that  will  be  a 
college  good  enough  for  me." 

It  is  worth  while  to  note  the  reasons  that  decided  him  to 
go  East  for  an  education,  and  to  Williams  rather  than  to 
some  other  college.  It  was  naturally  expected  that  if  he 
wished  for  anything  beyond  the  local  schools,  he  would  go 
to  Bethany  College,  an  institution  connected  with  the 
church  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and  which  had  for  its 
presiding  officer  Alexander  Campbell,  the  founder  and 
leader  of  that  sect.  He  thus  explains  his  change  of  destin 
ation  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  :  "  There  are  three  reasons  why 
I  have  decided  not  to  go  to  Bethany  : 


196        AN  UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE. 

"  1st.  The  course  of  study  is  not  so  extensive  or  thorough 
as  in  Eastern  colleges; 

"2nd.  Bethany  leans  too  heavily  toward  slavery; 

"3rd.  I  am  the  son  of  Disciple  parents;  am  one  myself  and 
have  had  but  little  acquaintance  with  people  of  other  views, 
and  having  always  lived  in  the  West,  I  think  it  will  make 
me  more  liberal,  both  in  my  religious  and  my  general  views, 
to  go  into  a  new  circle,  where  I  shall  be  under  new  influen 
ces."  He  then  proceeds  to  say  that  he  has  written  to  the 
Presidents  of  three  Eastern  institutions,  and  has  received 
similar  replies,  brief  business  notes  from  all,  but  adds,* 
"  President  Hopkins  concludes  his  letter  witli  this  sentence: 
*  If  you  come  here,  we  shall  be  glad  to  do  what  we  can  for 
you/  Other  things  being  so  nearly  equal,  this  sentence, 
which  seems  like  a  friendly  grasp  of  the  hand,  has  settled 
the  question  for  me.  i  shall  start  for  Williams  next  week." 

Really  this  young  man  has  got  a  very  definite  and  just 
conception  of  his  needs.  He  seeks  for  culture,  liberality 
and  freedom.  He  will  not  go  where  people  lean  toward 
slavery.  To  this  thought  he  was  consistent  all  his  life. 

One  day,  while  he  commanded  a  division  in  the  Army  of 
the  Cumberland,  a  fugitive  slave  took  refuge  in  the  camp. 
It  was  early  in  the  war,  when  some  supposed  that  a  chief 
duty  of  the  Union  forces  was  to  capture  and  restore  the 
slaves  that  ran  away.  So  the  commanding  officer  wrote  an 
order  to  General  Garfield,  requiring  him  to  find  the  fugitive 
and  hand  him  over  to  his  owner.  He  took  the  order  and 
deliberately  wrote  upon  the  back  these  words: — "  I  respect 
fully  but  positively  decline  to  allow'  my  command  to  search 
for  or  deliver  up  any  fugitive  slaves;  I  consider  that  they 
are  here  for  quite  another  purpose,"  and  gave  it  to  the 
orderly  to  carry  back.  A  friend  who  saw  the  message 
expected  him  to  be  court-martialed  on  the  spot,  and  begged 
him  not  to  send  it.  He  simply  answered,  "  Eight  is  right, 


AN   UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE.  197 

*nd  I  will  not  mince  matters.  My  people  on  the  Western 
Reserve  did  not  send  my  boys  and  myself  down  here  to  do 
that  kind  of  work,  and  they  will  sustain  me  in  my  course." 
The  refusal  went  to  headquarters,  but  no  reprimand  was 
given,  and  nothing  more  was  said  about  the  case. 

That  yearning,  too,  for  sympathy  that  made  a  kindly  word 
appear  the  welcome  of  a  friendly  hand.  He  never  lost  that 
feeling,  nor  did  he  forget  to  sympathize  in  turn  with  other 
young  men  in  circumstances  like  his  own.  Some  of  his 
choicest  memories  were  of  his  success  in  encouraging  and 
bringing  forward  some  who  were  distrustful  of  themselves, 
and  of  winning  some  parents  to  consent  to  the  education  of 
their  sons.  One  such  unwilling  parent  of  an  economical 
disposition,he  persuaded  by  assuring  him  that  in  a  little  time 
his  boy  could  teach  and  so  earn  money  for  himself.  An 
other,  of  religious  principles,  he  gained  by  preaching  in  his 
hearing  a  sermon  on  the  Parable  of  the  Talents,  urging  that 
parents  were  responsible  for  the  development  and  culture 
of  their  sons.  To  a  young  man  who  was  almost  discour 
aged  and  ready  to  give  up  the  struggle  for  a  college  coursei 
and  who  had  asked  him  for  advice,  he  wrote:  "Brother, 
mind  it  is  not  a  question  to  be  discussed  in  the  spirit  of  de 
bate,  but  to  be  thought  over,  and  prayed  over,  as  a  question 
out  of  which  are  the  issues  of  life.  "  And  then  proceeded 
to  comfort  and  inspire  in  words  that  must  have  sprung  out 
-of  his  own  experience.  The  rule  of  thought  and  prayer 
which  he  here  prescribes  to  others,  he  followed  rigidly 
himself. 

On  any  matter  that  arose  for  settlement  he  sought  the 
guidance  of  God's  word  and  spirit.  He  was  never  ashamed 
*)f  his  religion,  nor  sought  to  put  it  out  of  sight. 

One  night  a  party  of  Williams  College  students  were 
camping  out  upon  a  neighboring  mountain  to  see  the  sun 
rise  from  the  top.  They  sat  beside  a  camp  fire  and  spent 


108        AN  UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE. 

the  evening  merrily  in  jest  and  song,  until  the  hour  for  re 
tiring  carne,  when  one  of  them  drew  a  Bible  from  his  pocket 
and  said  to  his  companions:  "It  is  my  habit  to  read  a  chap 
ter  and  to  pray  before  I  go  to  bed.  Will  you  not  join  me 
in  this  exercise  to-night?"  And  so  he  read  the  sacred 
word  and  prayed  with  them  upon  the  mountain  top,  and 
one  who  was  a  member  of  the  group,  and  who  described 
the  scene,  has  lately  said,  u  I  never  lost  the  influence  of 
that  hour."  That  student  was  James  A.  Garfield.  He 
afterward  confided  to  a  friend  that  by  a  special  arrangement 
with  his  mother  they  both  read  the  same  passage  and  prayed 
for  one  another  every  night. 

But  who  may  venture  to  describe  the  reverent  regard, 
the  tender,  chivalric  attention  he  ever  manifested  for  thai 
mother?  His  devotion  to  his  wife  was  beautiful,  and  it  i& 
high  encomium  for  him  and  her  to  say  that  they  were  per 
fectly  united,  and  wholly  worthy  of  each  other.  But 
towards  his  mother  he  displayed  a  love  that  seemed  almost 
to  be  a  worship.  He  never  knew  a  father's  care,  and  all  hia 
strength  of  soul  went  out  upon  the  mother  who  had  filled 
the  place  of  both  his  parents  to  him.  We  all  have  read 
how,  upon  the  day  of  his  inauguration  as  President,  whei* 
he  had  finished  his  discourse,  he  turned  to  his  mother  and 
his  wife  and  kissed  them  both,  as  if  in  this,  the  proudest 
moment  of  his  life,  when  the  applause  of  the  great  multi 
tude  was  hailing  him  the  nation's  chief,  he  found  his  sweet- 
est  pride  and  plaudits  in  their  love.  Most  of  us  know  that 
the  only  letter  he  wrote  after  he  had  received  the  fatal 
wound  was  a  note  to  reassure  and  cheer  his  mother  in  her 
Ohio  home,  and  have  read  those  hopeful  and  courageous 
words.  And  he  might  well  be  a  grateful  and  hopeful  sonr 
for  in  her  character  and  the  training  that  she  gave  were 
held,  as  in  an  acorn  cup,  his  illustrious  career. 

He  was   highly   favored  in  his   parentage  on    both  his. 


AN  UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE.        199 

father's  and  his  mothers  Bide.  His  father's  family  were 
English  yeomen  from  the  Welsh  borders,  who  came  to 
America  with  the  early  Puritans,  and  who  were  always 
known  as  sturdy  and  God-fearing  men.  They  were  chiefly 
or  entirely  farmers — true  sons  and  tillers  of  the  soil.  His 
mother's  family  were  French  Huguenots,  driven  from  the 
country  by  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  They 
were  mostly  preachers — men  of  great  eloquence  and  intel 
lectual  power.  And  so  the  son  inherited  from  the  one  side 
an  admirable  physique  and  perfect  health,  and  from  the 
other  an  instinct  for  study  and  for  speech.  English  firm 
ness  and  French  fire,  Saxon  solidity  and  Celtic  grace  were 
blended  finely  in  his  frame. 

God  sometimes  forms  a  great  man  as  he  makes  a  dia 
mond,  of  one  element,  and  the  person,  like  the  jewel,  is  of 
wondrous  brilliancy  and  worth;  but  generally,  at  least,  in 
these  days,  he  combines  many  elements  and  traits  together, 
and  so  secures  variety  and  versatility  of  mind.  This  was 
pre-eminently  true  in  him  of  whom  we  speak.  He  was  a 
high,  yet  worthy  representative  of  the  people  and  the  in 
stitutions  of  his  native  land. 

His  country  mourns  for  him  as  for  her  favorite  and 
chosen  son.  But  with  her  tears,  is  mingled  gratified  pride 
that  her  soil  can  produce  such  men. 

She  thinks  of  Lincoln,  of  Garfield,  her  two  murdered 
Presidents  to-day,  and  like  the  Koman  mother,  points  to 
them  as  her  most  precious  gems.  And  that  aged,  widowed 
mother,  sits  desolate,  yet  glorified  to-day,  and  while  she 
weeps,  she  also  must  rejoice.  She  gave  him  to  his  country 
more  than  20  years  ago.  When  he  decided  to  enlist  he 
told  her  of  his  wish,  and  asked  for  her  consent.  For  a 
while  she  could  not  give  it — the  struggle  was  severe.  He 
not  go  without  her  God-speed  to  the  war,  and  she 


I  • 
200        AN  UNPARALLELED  SPECTACLE. 

could  not  grant  it.     At  last  she  sa^fd,  "  Go,  my  son,  your 
life  belongs  to  your  country,  not  to  me." 

lie  has  yielded  his  life,  not  upon  the  battle-field,  but  yet 
in  his  country's  service  and  for  her  good.  In  her  deep 
agony  the  mother  to-day  will  rejoice  that  she  pronounced 
those  words.  She  will  be  glad  that  she  had  such  a  son  to 
give  and  that  she  gave  him  for  his  country's  good. 

I  should  naturally  fail  in  the  feelings  of  this  hour  if  I  did 
not  add  a  few^words  as  the  representative  of  my  country 
and  countrymen.  Gratitude  we  all  feel  toward  all  our  fel 
low-citizens  for  the  outpouring  of  their  sympathy  in  this 
the  hour  of  our  distress. 

I  never  felt  so  deeply  a  love  for  all  mankind  as  to-day. 
I  never  realized  so  much  how  many  and  how  mighty  are 
the  cords  that  bind  the  Mother  beyond  the  sea  and  the 
Daughter  on  this  side,  and  how  real  are  the  common  blood 
and  the  common  sympathy. 

And  on  behalf  of  myself  I  must  be  permitted  to  say  to 
day,  with  new  emphasis  and  feeling,  God  bless  Her  Majesty 
the  Queen,  and  all  the  sons  of  her  realm  that  show 
selves  our  brethren  and  fellow-mourners  at  this  hour. 


LESSONS  FOR  THE  YOUNG. 

BY  BISHOP  CLARKSON,  OP  IOWA. 
Delirered  at  the  Memorial  Service,  in  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  Sept  28, 1881. 

IT  may  be  safely  said  that  history  nowhere  presents  rec 
ords  of  such  a  scene  as  this  day's  sun  looks  down  upon. 
Fifty  millions  of  people  in  actual  mourning  for  one  man, 
and  the  whole  wide  world,  from  end  to  end,  bowed  and  si 
lent  in  responsive  sympathy. 

Among  all  the  wonders  of  history  this  hour's  scene 
stands  alone  of  its  kind,  and  unapproachable  in  majesty 
and  sublimity.  Never  has  there  been  seen,  heard  or  writ 
ten  of  anything  like  it  since  the  world  began.  Now,  my 
friends,  we  take  the  position  that  all  this  remarkable  cota- 
dition  of  things  that  we  see  to-day  on  the  American  conti 
nent  is  not  to  be  accounted  for,  simply  because  the  man 
whose  death  we  lament  was  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  therefore  the  representative  of  a  great  nation. 
Nor  yet  because  his  terrible  taking-off  was  associated  with 
such  a  startling  and  shocking  tragedy,  and  with  such  con 
tinued  and  pitiable  suffering,  borne  with  a  sublime  hero 
ism  and  a  marvelous  patience. 

These  facts  have,  no  doubt,  contributed  largely  to  inten 
sify  the  nation's  sorrow,  to  evoke  the  world's  sympathy 
and  to  swell  everywhere  the  melancholy  pageantry  of  *o- 

(201) 


202  LESSONS  FOR  THE   YOUNG. 

day.  But  the  real  source  of  this  unexampled  exhibition  of 
human  grief  lies  deeper  than  all  this.  It  is  to  be  found  in 
the  universal  and  unchallenged  estimate  of  the  departed 
President's  character,  in  the  radiant  beauty  of  his  great  and 
stainless  life.  From  the  fierce  struggles  of  his  lonely  child 
hood  up  through  all  grades — u  student,  teacher,  soldier, 
statesman,  president,"  there  was  ever  the  same  grand  pic 
ture  whose  magnificent  colorings  were  truthfulness,  dili 
gence,  fidelity,  purity,  gentleness,  unselfishness,  dignity  and 
clean-handedness. 

And  upon  this  grand  picture  of  human  life  there  has 
been  cast,  as  Tennyson  says,  the  shinings  of  the  utmost  pos 
sible  daylight,  and  there  it  has  ever  stood  and  shall  always 
stand,  the  same  clear,  unstained  and  wondrousiy  beautiful 
and  benignant.  That  is  the  reason  why  the  uncounted 
thousands  of  the  world's  population  stand  to-day  with  un 
covered  heads  and  unspoken  emotions,  by  the  open  grave 
that  is  to  hide  away  from  human  sight  so  much  greatness, 
so  much  goodness,  so  much  loveliness,  and  so  much  true 
nobility.  What  an  example  to  the  young  man  here  who 
feels  that  he  has  something  in  him  that  can  lift  itself  above 
the  mediocrity  about  him. 

The  laurels  that  wreathe  this  man's  splendid  career,  the 
tributes  that  cover  his  name  with  glory,  the  tears  that  are 
wept  over  his  tragic  fate,  are  holier  triumphs  far  than  ever 
crowned  the  common  politician,  the  average  statesman,  or 
the  successful  soldier — because  they  are  the  triumphs  of 
character. 

We  hold  up  to  you,  young  men,  to-day,  the  inspiring  name, 
James  Abram  Garfield.  Not  because  he  achieved  success 
in  gaining  position  and  power,  for  this  is  not  open  to  you  ail, 
but  because  he  achieved  success  in  preserving  a  record 
undefiled  by  a  shadow  of  meanness  or  littleness,  in  securing 
the  affectionate  admiration  of  all  who  ever  touched  him  in 


LESSONS  FOR   THE   YOUNG.  203 

the  manifold  jostlings  of  life,  and  now  in  bringing  upon  hii 
memory  the  benedictions  of  the  ten  times  ten  thousand  who 
have  been  helped  by  his  example  upward  to  the  right. 
This  is  the  true  victory  of  life. 

And  this  victory  is  in  some  degree  attainable  by  every 
young  man  before  me — each  one  in  his  own  sphere,  stand 
ing,  working  and  conquering  in  the  lot  where  God  has 
placed  him. 

One  thought  more.  The  mournful  death  which  we  this 
day  lament,  associated  as  it  is  with  such  relations  of  sad 
ness  and  distress  as  to  attract  the  gaze  and  the  sympathy 
of  the  world,  is  not  utterly  deplorable.  There  is  a  bright 
side  to  it.  Thank  God  there  was  among  us — yes,  even  at 
our  very  head — such  a  man  to  live,  yea,  and  such  a  man  to 
die. 

We  hold  that  the  world  is  vastly  better  to-day;  that  our 
common  humanity  has  been  lifted  to  a  higher  level;  that 
our  young  men  have  been  elevated  in  tone  and  purpose,  be 
cause  we  have  been  bending  in  anxious  grief  for  eighty 
days  over  the  death-bed  of  such  a  man,  watching  with 
prayerful  hope  the  flickering  pulse  of  his  parting  life,  and 
because  we  are  now  in  the  sacredness  of  a  holy  sorrow, 
laying  him  away  to  his  final  resting  place,  amidst  the  people 
who  loved  him  the  most,  because  they  knew  him  the  best 
Life  or  death  win  equal  honors  for  such  a  soul.  Living,  he 
was  an  inspiration.  Suffering — we  speak  it  reverently — 
he  was  Christ-like:  for  the  sweet  patience  and  the  chastened 
resignation  of  that  long  agony  was  but  the  utterance  of 
the  sublime  prayer,  "  Father  forgive  them,  they  know  not 
what  they  do;"  "and  beingdead  he  yet  speaketh,"  and  shall 
forever  speak  to  American  youth. 

Sometimes  the  young  man  who  is  just  entering  upon  his 
life's  work,  when  he  observes  about  him  so  ranch  trickery 
in  trade,  BO  much  corruption  in  politics,  so  much  sham  in 


204  LESSONS  FOR  THE   YOUNG. 

religion,  or  when  he  is  oppressed  by  the  thought  of  how 
long  and  hard  the  fight  is  to  be  before  he  gains  his  goal — 
or  when  he  seems  to  see  about  him  the  temporary  advan 
tage  the  False  and  the  Wrong,  and  the  crowding  into  the  cor 
ner  and  the  shade,  the  true  and  the  good,  he  is  tempted  to 
lose  faith  in  himself,  faith  in  the  right,  faith  in  man  and 
faith  in  the  eternal  realities.  Oh,  sad  beginning  this  of 
many  an  immortal  wreck.  But  I  tell  you,  my  young 
brother  man,  there  is  in  this  day's  magnificent  and  mourn 
ful  spectacle,  and  in  the  thoughts  born  of  it,  that  ought  to 
charm  you  back  from  a  danger  like  this. 

Here  is  first  the  spectacle  of  honest  manhood,  untiring 
labor,  conscientious  fidelity  and  incorruptible  rectitude, 
crowned  with  this  earth's  highest  civic  honors,  because  of 
the  Republic's  confidence  in  these  eternal  virtues  ;  here  is 
the  generous  allaying  of  all  party  strife  and  the  marvelous 
calming  down  of  all  political  animosities  in  the  presence  of 
pain  and  danger  to  the  chosen  one,  who  represents  to  the 
Republic's  eye  these  great  principles,  and  embodies  them  in 
his  person  and  life — here  is  a  mighty  people  bereaved  in 
his  death  as  by  a  personal  loss,  beyond  any  precedent  in 
history,  because  he  was  such  a  man — here  is  the  measure 
less  tide  of  human  sympathy  swelling  towards  the  afflicted 
nation  from  all  coasts  and  all  shores,  because  he  was  such 
a  man. 

I  tell  you  young  man,  when  yon  think  of  these  things 
and  what  they  sprung  from,  and  what  they  lead  to,  you 
may  look  above  the  struggles  and  the  rivalries  and  the 
shams  and  the  falsehoods  around  you  ;  these  are  calculated 
to  tone  down  your  hopefulness  and  enthusiasm  and  say  to 
yourself,  "I  have  still  faith  in  man,  faith  in  myself,  faith 
in  the  Nation,  faith  in  the  future,  faith  in  the  eternal  power 
of  right,  and  above  all,  faith  in  the  Everlasting  God  who 
roles  and  reigns  above,  because  such  a  man  as  James  Abram 


LINCOLN  AND  GARFIELD.  205 

Garfield  has  lived  and  died  and  conquered,  has  been  deco 
rated  with  the  Republic's  choicest  appreciation,  and  goes  to 
his  grave  to-day  garlanded  with  all  that  is  holy,  and  all 
that  is  tender  and  all  that  is  precious,  in  human  sorrow. 


LINCOLN  AND  GARFIELD. 


BY  Ex.  GOVERNOR  RICHARD  J.  OGLESBY,  OF  ILLINOIS. 
Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Service  in  Leadville,  Colorado,  September  26, 188L 

MB.  MAYOR,  BROTHER  SOLDIERS,  MEN  OF  THE  NAVY 
AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  Wherever  we  turn  our  eyes  we 
behold  the  signs  and  emblems  of  mourning,  tokens  of  a 
nation's  grief. 

This  sad  day,  observed  throughout  the  Union,  is  also 
appropriately  kept  amid  these  mountains  by  these  people? 
who  never  forget  what  is  due,  on  all  great  occasions  like 
this,  of  love  to  a  president  who  has  been  assassinated  in  this 
great  Kepublic. 

It  has  been  supposed  tyrants  were  reserved  for  this  crime. 
It  is  perhaps  not  admitting  too  much  to  say  the  world  has 
felt  relieved  when  known  tyrants  have  been  removed  from 
the  theatre  of  their  bloody  deeds.  But  what  are  we  to 
think  when  we  witness  this  crime  in  our  own  midst,  in  our 
day?  Two  men,  great  and  good  men,  have  fallen  under  our 
eyes,  at  our  door,  in  the  beauty  and  glory  of  perfect  man 
hood — in  the  maturity  of  rounded  and  perfect  lives,  inno- 


206  LINCOLN  AND  GARFIELD. 

cent  of  any  wrong-doing  to  any  human  being.  The  breasts 
of  both  were  filled  with  humanity  for  all  mankind.  And 
if  it  be  the  hand  of  Providence,  are  we  to  be  taught  the 
hard  lesson  that  republics  are  not  favored  of  God?  This  is 
unendurable — this  is  manifestly  untrue.  If,  then,  it  be  the 
mysterious  hand  of  Providence,  are  we  to  learn  that  no  dis 
tinction  is  taken  between  tyrants  and  the  truly  great  bene 
factors?  or  shall  we  not  rather  understand  from  this  experi 
ence — these  great  national  bereavements — :that  this,  regard 
ing  alike  the  law  of  God  and  man,  assassination  is  the  in 
stigation  and  the  work  of  cruel  and  abandoned  men,  who 
neither  understand  nor  care  for  the  institutions  of  govern 
ment  or  the  lives  of  men?  But  if  Providence  is  still  dis 
cernible  in  this  heart-rending  crime,  may  we  not  catch  the 
sunlight  of  the  holy  purpose  breaking  through  the  dark 
cloud  in  the  dawn  of  a  more  perfect  and  fraternal  national 
sentiment.  For  have  we  not  witnessed  during  this  great 
calamity  the  most  beautiful  and  touching  manifestations  of 
sympathy  and  sorrow  from  all  political  parties,  and  from 
ail  men  and  associations  of  men  of  all  countries  and  all  na 
tionalities  of  the  nations  of  this  earth? 

But  a  few  years  ago  Abraham  Lincoln  fell  by  the  hand 
of  an  assassin — that  great,  God-like,  sainted  man,  who  illu 
minated  the  whole  earth  by  his  illustrious  character,  and 
when  he  fell  a  dark  suspicion  also  fell  upon  our  Southern 
fellow  citizens  who  had  lately  been  arrayed  against  us.  It 
was  a  long  time  that  the  South,  I  feel  constrained  as  an 
honest  man  to  say,  suffered  under  the  suspicion  of  partici 
pation  in  that  national  and  cruel  crime. 

Let  me  here  to-day,  in  the  most  copious  and  open  man 
ner,  declare  as  only  a  private  American  citizen  can  declare, 
that  in  my  opinion  and  in  the  opinion  of  most  of  the  living 
thoughtful  men  of  the  day,  the  South  had  nothing  what 
ever  to  do  with  the  assassination  of  Abraham -Lincoln. 


LINCOLN  AND  GARFIELD.  207 

James  A.  Garfield  has  fallen.  I  fear  a  dark  suspicion 
lurks  in  the  mind  of  thoughtful  women  and  thoughtful 
men,  that  perhaps  agencies  may  have  been  at  work,  deep 
and  direful,  to  bring  about  this  awful  result.  I  believe  it 
due  to  the  dignity  of  this  occasion,  I  believe  it  due  to  the 
patriot,  and  to  the  trustworthiness  of  American  political 
history,  to  say  for  one,  and  for  only  one,  but  still  that  one 
speaking  from  the  high  plateau  of  American  citizenship, 
that  political  parties,  however  variant  and  however  differ 
ent  in  their  opinion  of  their  hostilities,  have  had  nothing 
under  God's  heaven,  under  God's  free,  shining  sun,  either 
secretly  or  otherwise,  with  the  foul  agency  that  resulted  in 
the  death  of  our  late  President. 

These  great  facts,  fellow-citizens  of  Leadville,  these 
repeat,  astonishing  and  terrifying  historical  facts,  will  live. 
History  will  astonish  and  mortify  the  world  long  after  you 
and  I  and  these  people  shall  have  passed  into  the  grave  of 
oblivion.  These  terrible  facts  will  endure  as  long  as  Ameri 
can  history  shall  endure,  and  let  us,  you  and  me,  let  the 
women  and  men  to-day  of  this  country  and  of  this  State 
contribute  whatever  we  can  in  the  way  of  truth,  in  the  way 
of  open  and  honest  declaration,  to  divest  that  history  of  all 
foul  and  unnatural  suspicion.  But  they  fell — both  of  them 
fell,  by  the  hands  of  wicked,  cruel,  individual,  irresponsible 
men,  and  it  is  neither  becoming  the  dignity  of  this  occasion, 
the  solemnities  of  this  all-pervading  day,  nor  your  character, 
nor  mine  as  an  American  citizen,  that  we  should  fritter  away 
the  dignity  of  the  awful  hour  in  unworthy  and  unbecoming 
imprecations  upon  the  foul  heads  of  the  worthless  men 
who  brought  these  great  disasters  upon  our  God,  our  coun 
try  and  our  liberty. 

Of  the  miserable  Guiteau,  what  does  it  concern  you  or 
me  as  to  what  his  fate  shall  be?  Whether  he  shall  die  as 
he  ought  to  die,  and  a  wronged  and  outraged  sentiment  be 


208  LINCOLN   AND  GARFIELD. 

avenged  by  a  wronged  and  outraged  people,  or  at  the  hand 
of  some  other  assassin,  or  by  the  due  process  of  law — it  mat 
ters  not.  His  poor,  worthless  life,  his  poor,  worthless  char 
acter,  his  poor,  unworthy  ending,  can  in  no  possible  event 
be  any  compensation  for  the  calamity  he  has  brought  upon 
the  republican  institutions.  No,  ladies  !  no,  no  gentlemen! 
I  will  not  spend  an  hour  or  a  minute  upon  his  fate  ;  it  is 
totally  unworthy  of  the  notice,  the  reflection  or  the  consid 
eration  of  the  humblest  and  most  unpretentious  individual 
within  the  reach  and  reverberation  of  my  voice.  God  in 
heaven  that  rules  to-day,  as  he  has  ever  ruled,  as  you  are 
taught  by  the  lispings  of  the  touching  and  eloquent  prayer 
to  which  you  have  just  listened,  will  see  that  not  only  the 
destiny  of  nations,  but  the  destiny  of  republics  among  na 
tions,  shall  be  wisely  and  forever  cared  for. 

Women  and  men  of  these  mountainous  regions,  whom  1 
am  from  to-day  learning  to  love  so  well-you  women  and  men 
gathered  from  all  the  States  and  Territories  of  the  nations 
of  this  world,  in  these  isolated,  remote  and  lofty  regions  do 
not  forget  your  allegiance  to  yourselves;  do  not  forget  your 
allegiance  to  civilization;  do  not  forget  your  allegiance  to 
republican  institutions,  and  do  not  forget  your  allegiance  to 
God  in  heaven. 

As  sure  as  time  rolls  on,  as  sure  as  the  sun  shall  rise 
and  illuminate  with  its  gorgeous  rays  those  lofty  peaks  that 
rear  their  heads  heavenward  above  us,  and  continues  its 
course  until  it  reaches  the  West  and  sinks  behind  those 
mountains  that  are  to  endure  forever,  remember,  fellow 
citizens,  one  and  all,  that  justice,  and  right,  and  humanity, 
and  law,  and  order,  and  piety,  and  virtue,  will  in  the  end, 
triumph  over  all. 

Our  government  is  a  government  of  the 'people;  our 
government  is  a  government  for  the  people;  our  govern 
ment,  thank  God,  is  a  government  by  the  people.  If  it  be 


LINCOLN  AND  GARFIELD.  20$ 

not  the  best  on  earth,  if  it  shall  not  finally  triumph  in  the' 
onward  march  of  civilization,  then  has  humanity  been  cre 
ated  in  vain;  then  lias  every  man  lived  to  no  purpose;  for^ 
I  am  sure,  poor  and  infirm  man  as  I  am,  I  am  sure  that/ 
God  in  heaven  intended  the  lowest  and  commonest,  and; 
the  most  ignorant  of  mankind,  should  share  equally  and' 
fully  and  finally  in  the  glorious  existence,  and  in  the  ftfTE 
enjoyment  of  human  life  and  human  liberty. 

The  death  of  Lincoln,  the  death  of  Garfield,  the  death  of 
any  man  or  combination  of  men  who  have  lived,  cannot, 
affect  the  onward  march  of  a  free,  patriotic  arid  honest 
people.     A  government  resting  upon  the  hearts  of  honest:; 
men,  a  government  firmly  grounded  in  the  affection*  of  ftu 
pure  people,  cannot  rust  and  perish  away. 

We  live,  fellow  citizens,  and  we  can  only  live  by  the  in 
stitutions  of  government.  You  may,  many  of  you,  feel  as 
I  have  felt;  you  may,  all  of  you  have  felt  sometimes  that 
the  ways  of  government  and  the  ways  of  constitution  and 
the  ways  of  laws  are  hard  and  oppressive.  "Within  the  view 
of  yonr  vision  and  limited  intellect,  you  may  often  foel  that- 
all  does  not  go  right,  that  liberty  does  not  flow  out  equally- 
to  all.  We  have  these  doubts,  we  have  these  misgivings; 
sometimes  we  harbor  these  unjust  suspicions.  Women  and 
men,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  friends  and  countrymen,  shake 
off  all  such  thoughts,  and  dismiss  all  this  ideal  stuff  from 
your  minds;  let  it  waft  away,  this  futile  and  senseless 
trash.  Come  back  within  the  scope  of  your  own  individi*-, 
ality ;  come  back  within  the  range  of  the  powers  of  thought? 
and  reasoning  with  which  God  endowed  you ;  throw  away 
these  false  philosophies,  and  resolve,  as  I  have  done,  to  be 
trne  to  the  God  in  Heaven,  true  to  the  moral  lessons  of-, 
life,  true  to  honesty,  true  to  virtue  and  true  to  tie  flag  of  tu 
Republic  that  waves  forever  a  protection  above  our  hfiads. 

Lincoln  and  Garfield  were  alike  in  many  respects:  both*, 
/  14 


210  LINCOLN  AND  GARFIELD. 

were  of  hurable  and  obscure  origin;  both  lived  and  died 
poor;  both  were  humane  and  tender  by  nature;  both  were 
soldiers;  neither  rose  to  great  distinction  as  such,  but  in 
what  all  soldiers  love  and  hold  in  the  highest  estimation, 
both  earned  the  respect  and  good  opinion  of  all  citizens  and 
patriots;  both  were  highly  gifted  intellectually;  both  en 
dowed  with  the  purest  and  loftiest  morality;  both  were  in 
tensely  devoted  to  the  union  and  universal  liberty;  both 
met  the  same  untimely  end;  both  fell  from  the  same  high 
pinnacle  of  fame,  doomed  to  the  same  sad  fate  by  the  bullets 
of  dark  and  bloody,  minded  men;  and  both  honored  and 
loved,  will  be  forever  treasured  in  the  hearts  of  a  grateful 
people,  ever  mindful  of  the  lives  of  martyrs  to  freedom, 
resting  forever  in  the  affection  and  love  of  all  the  people  of 
the  Republic  and  of  all  lovers  of  liberty  throughout  the 
world. 

Here  I  might  well  afford  to  stay  my  remarks.  I  feel 
that  I  can  add  nothing  to  relieve  the  deep  feeling  that  pen 
etrates  and  permeates  the  hearts  of  all  who  have  so  pa 
tiently  listened  to  me.  Death  has  done  its  work;  all  these 
days  of  mournful  solemnities  throughout  the  entire  Nation 
and  the  world,  will  close  the  career  of  the  life  of  James  A. 
Garfield. 

Fellow  citizens  of  Leadville,  it  is  due  to  you,  it  is  due 
to  your  community,  it  is  due  to  these  people,  to  whom  I 
am  not  so  much  a  stranger  as  I  was  a  year  ago,  yet  com 
paratively  a  stranger  in  your  midst,  that  I  should  render 
and  return  to  yon,  to  your  committee,  to  your  mayor  and 
councilmen,  to  the  army,  to  the  representatives  of  the  State, 
to  the  militia,  to  the  soldiers  present,  my  thanks  for  this 
undeserved  honor,  for  this  great  compliment  unexpectedly 
bestowed  upon  me  of  officiating  here  upon  this  occasion; 
I  live  in  another  State;  my  home  is  in  Illinois,  where  it 
has  been  for  forty-five  years,  but  in  another  and  a  broader 


LINCOLN  AND  GARFIELD.  211 

and  a  higher  sense,  under  the  benign  influence  of  onr  ex 
pansive  and  generous  constitution,  I,  like  you  all,  like  every 
one  of  you  present,  am  a  citizen  not  only  of  the  State 
wherein  I  reside,  but  am  also  a  citizen  of  each  State  and 
Territory  of  this  Union.  And  wherever  you  plant  your  feet, 
or  I  shall  plant  my  foot,  within  the  reach  and  surroundings 
of  our  constitution,  both  you  and  I,  and  all  of  us,  are  at 
home  and  secure.  All  of  you  in  Colorado,  in  Lake  county 
and  in  Leadville,  you  and  I  and  all  of  us,  are  equally 
and  securely  at  home  and  at  rest  to-day.  But  there 
is  something  further  I  ought  to  say.  As  I  said  to 
my  old  friend,  Judge  Ward,  to-day,  not  only  here,  but 
wherever  I  shall  hereafter  go,  it  will,  it  shall,  be  most 
pleasant  and  agreeable  to  me  to  bear  testimony  to, 
the  state  of  society  that  I  have  met  with  in  these  moun 
tainous  regions.  In  this  State  of  Colorado,  and  in  this 
city  of  Leadville,  I  uniformly  encounter  nothing  but 
decorum,  nothing  but  propriety,  nothing  but  respect, 
nothing  but  cordiality,  nothing  but  sympathy  and  the 
highest  and  the  best  of  American  brotherhood.  I  know  it 
is  too  freely  written,  too  often  said  that  here,  life,  property 
and  peace  are  not  secure.  It  is  wrong,  it  is  an  unjust  re 
flection,  upon  the  state  of  society  that  I  behold  before  me 
to-day.  Witness  this  demonstration  of  sympathy  and  sorrow. 
How  it  must  affect  the  heart  of  that  pure,  noble,  simple 
American  woman,  the  bosom  companion,  the  better  part 
and  relict  of  James  A.  Garfield,  when  she  shall  learn  of  these 
mountaineers,  these  miners  that  wield  the  pick  and 
shovel,  these  men  that  dare  to  dive  deep  into  the  hidden 
riches,  and  mysteries  of  the  earth,  cut  off  for  a  time  from 
the  tender  relations,  of  society,  by  raising  up  men,  women 
and  children,  to-day,  in  beautiful,  majestic  array,  to  testify 
in  mourning  and  sorrow,  under  the  influence  of  sweet, 
touching  and  fruitful  music,  their  profound  sympathy  for 


212  GARFIELD,    THE  CHRISTIAN. 

the  loss  the  mother  and  the  children  have  sustained,  and 
for  the  loss  tlie  nation  has  sustained. 

I  see  here  wherever  I  go,  and  I  KC;«  here  whererer  I 
stroll,  the  sweet  and  gentle  influence  of  "women;-— God  bless 
their  gentle  and  mild  influence  upon  mou  here  in  Leadvitte! 
I  have  met  them,  pure,  refined,  delicate,  elegant,  casting 
the  influence  of  their  modest  presence  upon  the  rougher 
tone  of  society;  it  is  felt,  and  humanity  is  lifted  up.  God 
bless  the  women  of  America! 

Fellow-citizens,  brother  soldiers,  soon  I  leave  you,  per- 
haps  to  return  no  more.  Though  not  blessed  with  success 
myself,  I  can  bear  testimony  to  the  success  of  others,  and 
above  that  and  better  than  that,  I  can  and  shall  bear  testi 
mony  to  the  high  state  of  society,  to  the  morality  and  to 
the  Christian  influence  that  pervades  this  entire  atmosphere* 


GARFIELD,  THE  CHRISTIAN. 

BY  RET.  J.  W.  IXGBAK. 

Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Services  in  Omaha,  Neb.,  Sept.  3ft,  1A&. 

weeping  brethren  and  sorrowing  countryman,  I  am 
not  willing  that  one  word  of  mine  should  go  to  encourage 
anything  like  a  man- worshiping  spirit.  But  while  the 
tongue  of  evil  is  ever  busy  painting  in  darkest  colors,  in 
all  places,  the  faults  and  follies  of  our  fallen  race,  it  beerns 
no  less  a  duty  than  a  pleasure  to  point  the  whole  world  to 


QARFIELD,    TEE  CHRISTIAN.  213 

the  brilliant  life  and  beautiful  Christian  virtues  of  our  de 
based  President. 

The  influence  of  this  life,  and  the  reflections  of  these  vir 
tues  can  be  confined  to  no  class,  people,  or  nation,  la 
•every  land  where  the  torch  of  civilization  has  driven  back 
the  darkness  of  barbarism,  their  influence  has  been  felt,  and 
all  n  itional  life  hits  been  made  more  beautiful  by  their  em 
bellishments. 

The  Christianity  of  James  A.  Garfield  is  so  closely  inter 
woven  with  his  private  and  public  life,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
speak  of  one  and  not  the  other;  it  is  the  one  thread  of  gold 
that  runs  through  every  upward  step  of  his  sublime  life, 
from  the  dark  shadows  of  poverty  and  obscurity,  to  the 
fullness  of  the  glory  and  honor  of  the  greatest  of  all  na 
tions. 

The  religion  of  this  Christian  statesman  was  not  that  of 
a  mere  outward  profession,  nor  yet  of  a  mere  inward  sen 
timent  or  feeling.  Prayers,  songs  and  public  services,  did 
not  exhaust  his  idea  of  Christianity.  With  him  religion 
was  a  life,  not  a  creed,  not  a  dogma,  not  a  system  of  meta 
physics;  but  a  daily  cross-bearing,  sacrificing,  charity  be 
stowing  life. 

As  evidence  of  his  princely  faith  in  an  All-wise  Creator, 
a  divine  Redeemer,  and  an  inspired  Bible,  it  might  be  suffi- 
cioiit  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  world  to  his  righteous 
life,  and  triumphant  death,  but  along  the  pathway  of  his 
-earthy  pilgrimage  are  repeated  flashes  of  religious  light, 
that  more  clearly  reveal  to  us  his  confidence  in,  and  reli 
ance  upon  a  divine  revelation.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he 
made  for  the  first  time  a  public  avowal  of  his  belief  in  the 
gospel  of  God's  grace.  Doubtless  this  act  was  the  result 
of  his  overpowering  faith  in  God,  and  his  deep  sense  of 
duty.  Xo  love  of  fame,  no  thirst  for  earthly  glory,  no  lust 
for  worldly  wealth,  could  have  impelled  him  to  bow  his 


214  GARFIELD,    THE  CHRISTIAN. 

loyal  neck  to  the  }roke  of  the  Master;  for  the  people  with 
whom  he  made  his  spiritual  home  were  an  humble,  and 
at  that  time  a  despised  people,  clinging  to  the  cross,  and 
building  quietly  on  the  rock.  They  could  be  of  no  possi 
ble  service  to  him  in  any  worldly  sense  whatever. 

Later  on  in  life,  in  October,  1876,  he  stood  with  uncovered 
head,  face  to  face  with  death.  At  his  feet  lay  the  pale,  life 
less  form  of  his  own  darling  boy.  His  grief  was  as  deep 
and  sincere  as  his  paternal  love.  He  took  a  pen  in  his 
hand,  and  under  the  direction  of  his  great  heart,  wrote  a 
note  to  his  Christian  brethren,  asking  that  a  few  of  them 
be  with  him  in  his  great  trial,  and  ended  the  note  by  sub 
scribing  himself:  "In  the  hope  of  the  gospel,  so  preciou8 
in  this  affliction."  These  are  words  of  faith  springing 
from  a  sorrowing  heart,  and  penned  by  a  trembling  hand. 

Could  we  have  gone  on  some  bright  Sunday  morning  a 
few  months  ago,  and  opened  the  door  of  the  small,  unpre 
tentious  frame  church  in  the  village  of  Mentor,  Ohio,  and 
seen  the  manly  form  of  our  gifted  brother,  with  his  wife 
and  children  by  his  side,  surrounded  by  a  group  of  poor, 
humble  country  worshipers;  and  could  we  have  heard  his 
deep  bass  voice  mingling  with  theirs  in  song,  and  witnessed 
his  humble  reverence  as  he  bowed  in  solemn  prayer  with 
them  around  the  same  altar,  our  confidence  in  the  majesty 
of  his  faith,  the  humility  of  his  heart,  and  the  purity  of 
his  life,  must  forever  remain  unspoken. 

But  never,  since  the  days  the  Man  of  Sorrows  expired 
on  the  cross,  did  the  Christian  faith  shine  forth  with  more 
heavenly  lustre  than  during  the  eighty  long,  dreary  days 
of  the  President's  suffering.  When  the  fatal  shot  was  fired 
that  cut  him  down,  he  was  in  the  meridian  of  his  manhood, 
the  halo  of  a  nation's  glory  was  upon  him,  and  the  sun  of 
his  fame  was  high  in  the  heavens. 

That  morning  when  he  stood  in  the  fated  depot,  convers- 


GARFIELD,    THE  CHRISTIAN.  215 

ing  with  Secretary  Elaine,  his  body  was  full  of  health,  his 
heart  was  full  of  hope,  and  his  mouth  was  full  of  words  of 
promise. 

In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  the  body  was 
smitten  with  the  arrows  of  death;  the  hopes  of  his  heart 
were  blasted  forever;  the  world  of  promise  and  cheer  were 
changed  into  cries  of  pain  and  anguish;  the  feet  so  lightly 
started  in  the  path  of  recreation  and  pleasure,  were  rudely 
turned  into  the  gloomy  highway  leading  to  the  shadows  of 
death;  but  all  this  combined  with  great  physical  suffering, 
could  not  extort  from  the  patient  Christian  sufferer  a  sin 
gle  murmur  of  complaint.  Did  ever  mortal  bear  so  much, 
with  such  manly  courage  and  Christian  fortitude?  And 
how  free  were  those  days  of  trial  from  everything  like  fear 
of  death,  or  dread  of  dying. 

'With  him  there  was  no  constant  demand  for  the  presence 
and  prayers  of  a  minister  to  aid  him  in  a  preparation  for 
the  approach  of  death.  During  life  he  had  prepared  for 
death.  He  relied  not  so  much  on  the  power  of  prayer  as 
the  purity  of  life  for  happiness  in  the  far-off  forever.  Some 
have  supposed  the  almost  constant  absence  from  the  sick- 
chamber  of  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  was  evidence  of  a 
lack  of  faith  upon  the  part  of  the  nation's  ruler;  but  to 
my  mind,  it  only  shows  that  his  trust  was  not  in  feeble 
clay,  or  the  prayers  of  erring  men,  but  rather  in  a  holy  life 
and  forgiving  Christ. 

It  is  the  coward  who  has  made  no  preparation  for 
idying  while  living,  who  cries  for  preachers  and  prayera 
when  the  shadows  of  death  lengthen  and  deepen  around 
him. 

With  marvelous  faith  and  confidence,  this  great  man  re 
signed  all  to  the  will  of  the  Lord.  My  Christian  brethren 
and  fellow  countrymen,  let  us  embalm  in  our  memories  for 
ever  the  industrious  lad,  the  dutiful  boy,  the  loving  son, 


GARF1ELD,    THE  CHRISTIAN, 

the  studious  youth,  the  faithful  husband,  the  devoted  father, 
the  generous  neighbor,  the  gifted  teacher,  the  brave  soldier, 
the  eloquent  preacher,  the  brilliant  statesman,  the  wise 

ruler,  the  patient   suiferer,   the  pure  Christian,  and our 

fallen  chieftain. 

44  Fallen  on  Zion's  battle-field, 
A  soldier  of  renovrn. 

Armed  ia  the  )«inoply  of  God, 
In  conflict  cloven  -lown  ; 

His  heialet.  on,  hi*  armor  bright, 
His  cheek  unbianched  with  fear, 

While  round  Jiis  head  there  gleamed  ft  light, 
His  dying  hour  to  cheer. 

**Fflllen— a  holy  man  of  God, 
An  Israelite  indeed, 

A  standard- bearer  of  the  cross, 
Mighty  in  word  and  deed; 

A  roaster  spirit  of  the  age, 
A  bright  and  burning  light, 

"Whose  beams  across  the  armament 
Scattered  the  clouds  ot  night 

44  Fa-.len.  as  sets  the  sun  at  eve, 
To  rise  in  splendor,  \vliere 

His  kindred  luminaries  shine, 
Their  heaven  of  bliss  to  &hare; 

Beyond  the  strong  batrJe-ueld, 
He  reigns  in  triumph  now, 

Sweeping  a  harp  of  wondrooi  aonf, 
With  glory  on  h is  brow  I " 


THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  GREAT  MEN. 


BT  REV.  DB.  RAHTKIN. 

Delivered  In  the  First  Congregational  Church,  Washington,  D.  C.,  Sept,  25, 188L 

Is.  it!.,  1-3— "For,  behold  the  Lord,  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  doth  take  away  from  Jerusa 
lem  and  from  Judea  the  mighty  man,  the  man  of  war,  the  honorable  man,  the 
counselor,  and  the  eloquent  orator." 

THERE  is  no  function  of  society,  said  the  reverend  speaker, 
more  vital  than  the  choice  of  rulers.  In  this  country  it  is 
an  anointing  holier  than  that  of  a  king.  It  is  the  utter 
ance  of  a  voice  which  is  the  voice  of  God.  What  foreigner 
or  citizen  thinks  of  this  Nation  without  thinking  of  her 
great  men  ?  And  we  are  largely  what  these  great  men 
have  helped  to  make  us.  Disorganizers  of  society  look 
upon  great  men  as  in  some  sense  usurpers,  as  having  crowd 
ed  their  way  to  stations  of  prominence  by  jostling  aside 
their  betters.  Thus  the  Nihilist  prepares  his  hand-grenade, 
and  the  assassin  his  revolver.  They  do  not  reflect  that  pre 
paration  for  such  positions  is  of  God — that  they  are  God's 
gifts.  "Brutus  and  Csesarl  What  should  be  in  that 
Caesar  ?"  They  talk  as  Cassius  talked  to  Brutus. 

Irreverence  for  rulers  is  one  of  the  perils  of  a  republic. 
It  is  all  true,  as  Goldsmith  says,  that  a  breath  can  give 
dignity  and  station.  But  the  breath  that  calls  men  to  such 
places  cannot  make  them  tit  to  occupy  them.  How  peace 
ful  was  the  heart  of  this  great  Nation  to  feel  that  at  last 

(217) 


218  THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  GREAT  MEN. 

there  was  a  genuine,  typical  American  in  the  presidential 
chair!  "Upon  this  arm  can  I  lean;  this  head,  tliis  heart 
can  I  trust."  This  is  what  she  said. 

But  there  is  something  grander  than  the  place  to  which 
James  Abram  Garfield  was  called,  in  the  fact  that  he  was 
the  product  of  our  free  institutions.  The  American  people 
did  not  make  him  great.  Had  they  never  selected  him  to 
occupy  the  presidential  chair  the  man  had  been  the  same. 
And  we  may  well  ask  if  God  did  not  give  him  the  place, 
and  his  brief  career  in  it,  only  that  the  people  might  love 
him  better,  and  take  his  name  and  his  memory  more  into 
their  hearts  forever.  The  highest  product  of  American 
national  life  is  neither  patrician  nor  plebeian.  It  blends  and 
unites  them  both.  It  has  the  patrician  culture  with  the 
plebeian  heart.  Washington  stands  at  the  head  of  one  type, 
Lincoln  at  the  head  of  the  other.  Do  we  err  when  we  inti 
mate  that  Garfield  illustrates  them  both  ?  A  plebeian,  a 
common  man  in  all  his  sympathies  ;  a  patrician  in  the 
quality  of  his  mind  and  the  extent  of  his  culture.  President 
Garfteld's  honors  came  to  him  unsought.  They  came  so 
fast  he  could  not  keep  up  with  them. 

T!ie  greatness  which  he  achieved  he  did  not  struggle  for, 
but  grew  into.  Life  laid  her  honors  at  his  feet.  Place 
after  place  cried  out  for  him.  He  stood  up  in  a  great  con 
vention  to  advocate  the  claims  of  another.  He  became  at 
once  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes;  he  ravished  all  ears.  He 
could  not  be  true  to  another  without  being  his  own  best 
self.  It  was  nothing  new  ;  it  had  been  so  all  his  life  long. 
There  he  stood  ;  how  could  the  people  help  taking  him? 
His  nomination  was  an  inspiration.  It  was  foreordained, 
liJ'.e  the  consummate  bloom  of  the  flower. 

This  man's  power  never  degenerated.  He  was  reverent 
oi  good  things  by  nature,  and  to  him  all  good  things  were 
gr  »,at.  He  had  no  flippant  flings  for  the  religion  of  his 


THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  GREAT  MEN.  219 

mother.  He  revered  the  great  New  England  teacher; 
and  when  the  assassin  first  sought  him  it  was  in  the  sanc 
tuary  of  God.  He  finished  his  education  in  New  England. 
It  was  fitting  that  New  England  hands  should  place  the 
capital  on  this  column,  which  was  to  go  into  the  temple  of 
freedom  side  by  side  with  Washington  and  Lincoln  ;  that 
he  who  began  his  studies  where  he  heard  the  language  of 
the  Great  Lakes,  should  conclude  them  where  he  could 
listen  to  the  hymn  which  the  Pilgrims  heard  when  they 
laid  our  first  foundations. 

He  was  the  united,  the  consummate  flower  of  the  New 
England  of  the  East  and  the  New  England  of  the  West. 
Do  you  ask  me  why  he  was  so  rudely  and  cruelly  taken? 
Not  for  his  own  sake,  we  may  be  very  sure.  He  was  our 
President — our  representative.  In  smiting  him  God  has 
smitten  us.  Do  not  our  relations  to  God  need  fresh  read 
justment?  Have  we  kept  the  covenant  we  made  with  Him 
when  he  walked  with  us  in  the  furnace  of  fire?  Have  the 
men  in  our  highest  places  kept  it?  We  have  Christian 
convictions  as  to  the  Indian  question,  as  to  Mormonism,  as 
to  traffic  in  liquors.  Are  we  true  to  them?  It  is  a  great 
thing  to  feel  that  though  the  man  at  the  wheel  is  striken 
down,  the  Ship  of  State  moves  majestically  on;  that  the 
footsteps  of  God  are  in  the  seas  before  her. 

Such  a  Government  as  this  cannot  die.  It  does  not  rest 
in  any  one  man.  The  same  authority  which  made  Garfield 
President  indicated  his  successor.  We  turn  away  from 
Garfield,  dead,  not  to  forget  him.  If  he  has  made  mis 
takes — as  who  of  our  greatest  have  not,  and  have  we  not 
forgiven  them? — let  us  remember  that  his  hand  was  scarcely 
familiar  with  the  helm  of  state;  that  he  was  yet  in  the 
narrows  of  his  administration,  and  that  his  greatest  mistake 
must  always  have  sprung  from  a  great  loving  heart  that 
feared  no  ill,  because  it  meant  none — a  man  always  more 


220  THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  GREAT  MEN. 

ginned  against  than  sinning.  In  taking  one,  God  has  given 
another.  The  man  whom  the  people  named  second,  God 
has  now  named  h'rst.  No  unliueal  hand  takes  the  sceptre; 
but  a  man  of  character  and  purpose,  true  and  tried;  a  man 
who  has  walked  in  the  shadow  of  one  great  eclipse  with  a 
pathetic  discreetness  which  has  won  all  hearts,  and  whose 
first  official  acts  and  utterances  give  assurance  that  with 
these  unsought  responsibilities  has  come  to  him  peculiar 
grace  from  God.  If  he  has  made  his  mistakes  we  bury 
them  in  that  still  open  grave  of  his  predecessor. 

May  we  not  close  with  the  lines  in  which  the  poet  Ten 
nyson  finishes  the  poem  Mort  d' Arthur? 

14  The  old  order  changeth,  yielding  place  to  her, 
And  God  fulfills  Hiinsjlf  in  many  ways, 
Lest  one  good  custom  should  corrupt  the  world. 

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          • 

And  so  to  bed ;  where  yet  in  sleep  I  seemed 

To  sail  with  Arthur  under  looming  shores. 

To  me  methought 

There  came  a  barque  that,  flowing  forward,  bore 

King  Arthur,  a  modern  gentleman 

Of  stateliest  part ;  and  all  the  people  cried : 

Arthur  is  come  again ;  he  cannot  die  I " 

When  the  Nation  awakens  from  her  grief,  may  she  find 
the  parable  true.  Then  shall  be  fulfilled  the  prophecy 
"Thou  shalt  be  no  more  called  Forsaken.  Neither  shall 
thy  land  be  termed  any  more  Desolate.  But  thou  shalt  be 
called  Hephzibah  and  thy  land  Beulah.  For  the  Lord  de 
lighted  in  thee." 


WHY  WE  MOURN. 

» 

BT  N.  R.  HARFEB,  ESQ. 

Dtlivertd  at  the  opening  of  the  Special  Memorial  Sendees,  held  by  the  Colored 
People  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  Sept.  26,  188L 

THIS  service  was  held  in  the  opera  house.  On  the 
«tago  chairs  were  arranged  in  a  semi-circle,  with  three 
chairs  in  the  center.  Those  in  a  semi-circle  were  thirty- 
five  in  number,  which,  with  the  three  in  the  center,  made 
a  number  equal  to  the  number  of  States  in  the  Union. 
These  chairs  were  occupied  bj  the  girl  pupils  of  the  public 
schools,  each  one  of  them  holding  a  small  placard  in  her 
hand,  with  the  name  of  one  of  the  States  printed  in  large 
letters  across  it.  All  the  girls,  except  the  three  occupying 
the  chairs  in  the  center,  were  dressed  in  white;  those  in 
the  center  representing  the  three  States,  Ohio,  New  Jersey 
and  Kentucky,  were  dressed  in  mourning.  These  were 
called  the  mourning  States,  because  Garh'eld  died  in  one, 
was  buried  in  another,  and  the  people  of  Kentucky  univer 
sally  lament  his  untimely  death.  Across  the  front  of  tlio 
stage  were  arranged  chairs  for  those  who  were  to  take  part 
in  the  exercises,  the  seats  in  the  front  rows  of  the  parquet 
being  reserved  for  the  choir  and  school  children.  The  in 
side  of  the  building  was  draped  in  mourning  in  a  very 
handsome  manner,  and  each  one  of  the,  girls  representing 
the  three  mourning  States  held  a  large  portrait  of  the 

(221) 


222  WHY   WE  MOURN. 

President,  heavily  draped  in  mourning.     The  meeting  was 
presided  over  by  N.  R.  Harper,  Esq. 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: — Pursuant  to  arrangements  per 
fected  in  a  recent  in  ass- meeting  of  the  colored  citizens  of 
Louisville,  I  announce  to  you  the  opening  of  the  exercises 
at  this  hour. 

The  question  may  be  asked  by  some  why  we,  as  colored 
citizens,  should  single  ourselves  out  for  special  memorial 
services  on  our  part,  when  the  same  shot  that  rang  out  in 
the  ladies'  waiting-room  at  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac 
depot,  in  Washington  City,  on  the  2d  day  of  last  July,  was 
felt  alike  by  all  citizens  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  our  common  country?  Why  should  we,  as  a  class  of 
citizens  of  Louisville,  where  all  hearts  are  bowed  down  with 
the  sadness  of  this  hour,  when  the  booming  of  cannon,  and 
the  mournful  pealing  of  bells  utter  the  lamentations  of  our 
city? — why  should  we  thus  particularly  address  ourselves 
to  the  public  at  this  hour?  The  answer  to  these  questions 
may  be  given — that  a  Divine  hand  had  so  shaped  the  des 
tiny  of  colored  Americans,  that  we  can  feel  and  realize  to 
the  fullest  extent  the  power  and  influence  of  a  tried,  true 
and  faithful  friend,  or  the  blows  of  a  heartless,  uncharita 
ble  foe.  And  who  is  there  who  can  more  faithfully  inter 
pret  the  emotions  of  our  hearts  than  we  ourselves,  who  feel, 
as  no  other  class  of  citizens  in  this  country  can  feel,  that  a 
friend  to  American  liberty  has  been  called  away?  To-day, 
as  a  race,  we  mourn  the  loss  of  a  tried,  true  and  faithful 
friend.  The  sequel  shows  that  every  man  who,  in  the  dark 
years  of  the  past,  gave  his  time,  his  talent,  his  voice  and 
his  vote  to  the  work  of  driving  oppression  from  the  land,  in 
order  that  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  might, 
indeed,  become  the  star  of  hope  for  the  American  people; 
such  man  was  the  tried,  true  and  faithful  friend  of  the  col- 


WHY   WE  MOURN.  223 

ored  citizens  of  America.  This  meeting,  therefore,  can  but 
faintly  express  the  sentiment  of  the  colored  citizens  of  Lou 
isville  in  this  hour  of  national  grief  and  mourning.  The 
crowned  spirit  which  took  its  flight  heavenward  on  last 
Monday  night,  as  James  A.  Garfield,  was  a  tried,  true  and 
faithful  friend  of  our  race.  He  has  left  us.  "  After  life's 
fitful  fever  he  sleeps  well."  Assassination  has  done  its 
worst.  Nor  malice,  strife,  envy,  life's  trials  and  tribula 
tions,  nothing  can  touch  him  further.  But,  even  amid  the 
darkness  of  this  national  gloom,  hope  sees  a  star,  and  from 
its  silvery  rays,  flashing  from  the  throne  of  light,  reveals  in 
golden  lines,  "America,  live  on;  live  ever!" 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Harper's  address,  the  choir 
ranged  themselves  in  order  across  the  stage,  and  sang  the 
opening  anthem:  "To  Thee,  O  Lord,  I  yield  my  spirit." 


"0  God  of  Nations!  Chief  Arbiter  of  all  things! 
King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords  !  In  Thy  presence  we 
come  this  day,  humbly  acknowledging  Thy  power.  Thou 
art  mighty;  Thou  canst  work  and  no  one  can  hinder  Thee. 
With  Thee  are  the  issues  of  life  and  death.  Thy  tender 
mercy  and  loving  kindness  have  followed  us  all  the  dayi  of 
our  life,  even  until  now,  and  Thine  infinite  love  embraces 
us  as  a  goodly-fitting  garment.  Thou  art  the  same  un 
changeable  God  as  Thou  wast  in  the  beginning,  and  shall 
be  through  all  eternity.  O  Lord,  we  desire  Thy  help  in 
this  dark  hour  of  our  bereavement.  We  pray  Thee,  our 
Father,  for  Thy  sustaining  grace,  while  we  bow  to  the 
stroke  of  Thy  rod  of  providence.  We  are  ignorant,  but 
Thou  art  wise.  As  far  as  the  heavens  are  above  the  earth, 
so  far  are  Thy  ways  above  ours.  We  pray  Thee  to  look  from 
Thy  throne  of  glory  in  the  heavens  upon  this  Nation,  bathed 
in  tears,  and  while  we  mourn,  be  Thou  our  comforter. 


154  WHY  WE  MOURN. 

Turn  onr  sadness  into  joy,  and  by  Thy  wonderful  provi 
dence,  turn  this  calamity  to  the  good  of  our  country;  clear 
away  the  shadows  of  death  from  the  grave  of  our  departed 
President.  Remember,  O  Lord,  we  pray  Thee,  that  heroic 
woman,  who  has  tenderly  watched  by  the  death-bed  of  our 
dead  Kuler  through  all  these  weary  days — may  she  lean 
upon  Thy  strong  arm  and  find  support  in  this,  the  darkest 
hour  of  her  widowhood  and  bereavement.  Be  unto  her  a 
husband  and  unto  her  children  a  father.  Bless  his  mother, 
that  one  who,  in  the  days  of  his  youth,  taught  him  to  love 
The?..  O  Lord,  support  her  in  her  old  age,  and  may  con- 
Bjla'uion  take  hold  upon  her  heart,  when  she  realizes  that 
8* jo  will  soon  be  with  her  son  upon  the  golden  shore,  where 
no  assassia  can  come  to  rob  her  of  her  '  baby.'  "We  pray 
Thee  to  bless  those  who  were  with  him  during  his  affliction 
and  endeavored  to  win  him  back  to  strength,  and  as  they 
mingle  their  tears  to-day  with  ours,  may  they  be  comforted 
in  the  assurance  that  they  have  done  their  duty.  Bless 
President  Arthur.  Give  him  the  wisdom  to  fill  the  office 
vacant  by  the  hand  of  death.  May  he  trust  in  Thee  and 
follow  the  example  set  before  him.  May  he  rule  in  right 
eousness  and  in  Thy  holy  love.  We  pray  Thee  also,  O 
Lord,  to  remember  poor  Guiteau,  the  assassin,  shut  out 
from  the  sunlight,  incarcerated  in  his  cell  and  hated  by  all 
men.  O  God,  we  pray  Thee,  Thou  who  art  the  sinner's 
friend,  have  mercy  upon  his  guilty  soul.  Guide  us  as  a  na 
tion,  watch  over  us  as  a  people,  and  at  last  save  us,  we  ask,  for 
oar  Redeemer2!  sake.  Amen." 


WE  ALL  MOURN. 


BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  JACKSON. 


Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Service  In  A-tlanta,  Ga.,  Sept  26, 188L 

FIFTY  millions  of  people,  of  every  shade  of  political  opin 
ion,  of  every  form  of  religion;  people  from  all  the  ends  of 
the  earth,  from  every  section  of  this  land,  stand  to-day  be 
fore  an  open  grave,  with  heads  bowed  in  sorrow  and  humili 
ation;  sorrow  for  greatness  stricken  of  its  glory,  sorrow  for 
the  suffering  widow  and  children.  No  such  shock  as  this 
was  ever  before  known  in  our  country. 

The  president  once  fell  by  the  hand  of  violence,  but  that 
was  fresh  upon  the  clash  of  contending  armies.  But  now, 
in  a  time  of  profound  peace,  in  a  time  of  unparalleled  na 
tional  prosperity,  when  there  is  no  bitterness  between  the 
sections  or  the  two  parties,  when  the  national  sun  was 
shining  with  brilliancy,  when  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  was 
radiant — at  that  very  moment  the  head  of  the  government 
falls  before  the  hand  of  the  assassin. 

Tiie  scene  that  is  presented  before  us  is  one  that  the 
world  has  never  before  witnessed.  What  is  it  due  to  f  It 
is  due  to  the  character  of  our  institutions;  to  their  possi 
bility  for  developing  the  highest  good  or  the  direst  evil. 
Under  our  institutions  every  man  has  an  opportunity  to 
reach  a  position  which  his  superior  talents  entitle  him  to, 
15  (225) 


226  WE  ALL  MOURN. 

at  the  same  time  the  liberality  of  our  institutions  leaves  a 
gate  open  where  weak  minds,  or  hearts  black  and  tainted 
with  crime,  can  go  in  and  work  irreparable  damage. 

No  matter  how  we  have  differed  in  the  past,  now  it  seems 
Garfield  was  a  great  and  good  man. 

Twenty  years  ago,  Lincoln  was  regarded  as  a  bad  man, 
and  yet  to-day  there  is  scarcely  an  intelligent  man  who 
does  not  admit  that  he  was  honest  and  great,  and  that  his 
death  was  the  severest  blow  that  the  South  ever  received. 

The  shot  of  Guiteau  has  demonstrated  beyond  all 
peradventure  the  attachment  of  the  people  of  the  South 
for  the  whole  country.  They  knew  not  the  President, 
and  yet,  when  violence  attacked  him,  the  men,  women,  and 
the  very  children  cried  out  with  indignation.  They  prayed 
that  the  assassin  might  not  prove  to  be  from  the  South,  and 
for  nearly  three  months  they  waited  with  bated  breath  every 
bulletin. 

The  following  resoultions  by  the  special  committee  from 
Coeur  de  Leon  Commandery  were  read  at  this  meeting  by 
Eight  Eminent  W.  D.  Luckie  : 

Amidst  the  mourning  of  the  whole  land,  the  people  of  this 
city,  led  in  a  solemn  service  by  the  order  of  Knights 
Templar,  of  which  our  late  heroic  President  was  an  hon 
ored  member,  would  lament  the  untimely  and  unhappy 
severance  of  all  their  earthly  relations  with  him  by  the  ab 
rupt  thrust  of  rude  and  cruel  death. 

Widespread  as  is  his  own  country's  broad  domain,  hangs 
this  day  the  sable  cloud  of  popular  sorrow,  from  which 
universal  tears  are  falling.  This  day  the  States  of  the 
Union  unite  in  a  new  brotherhood  of  grief  over  their  com 
mon  loss. 

The  people  en  masse  are  claiming  that  the  bereavement 
is  their  own,  for  they  were  learning  when  he  fell  that  he 
was  the  President  of  the  whole  country. 


WE  ALL  MOURN.  227 

Society  suffers  the  pang  of  separation  from  a  genial  com 
panion,  and  the  republic  of  letters  losing  a  cultured  citizen 
would  show  its  own  peculiar  grief. 

The  families  of  the  land  bewail  with  common  sorrow  the 
loss  of  an  illustrious  and  exemplary  son,  husband,  father. 

The  genius  of  republican  government  intensely  resenting 
the  manner  of  his  death,  presents  mournful  but  exalted 
tributes  to  his  patriotism,  intelligence  and  virtue. 

And  religion  asserts  its  rightful  place  in  the  general  la 
ment,  but  commits  even  with  tearful  eyes  the  child  of 
grace  unto  Him  who  has  received  his  redeemed  spirit  into 
glory. 

Thus,  also,  this  order  came  in  union  with  all  to  offer  its 
tribute  to  his  memory,  who  was  one  of  the  knightliest 
soldiers  of  the  cross. 

Henceforth,  with  special*  pleasure,  his  biography  from 
his  earliest  years  to  the  close  of  his  life,  will  be  placed  in 
the  hands  of  our  American  youth,  that  they  may  emulate 
the  character  of  one,  who  with  proper  ambition  and  gener 
ous  endeavors,  attained  the  highest  places  of  honor  and 
usefulness,  while  he  maintained  his  Christian  virtues  and 
kept  himself  in  the  fear  of  God. 

That  Divine  providence  has  in  infinite  wisdom  already 
made  the  circumstances  of  the  revolting  assassination  pro 
duce  good  in  the  land  we  can  faithfully  trust.  That  the 
sentiment  which  the  thrilling  event  created  and  developed 
has  pervaded  the  hearts  of  all  the  people  of  our  great  coun 
try,  calls  for  universal  congratulation;  and  that  the  future 
of  our  government  will  be  happily  shaped  by  the  patriotic 
and  pious  influences  this  day  profoundly  felt  everywhere, 
is  a  hope  for  whose  realization  all  good  people  do  most  de 
voutly  pray! 

Thus  cherishing  in  memory  all  the  virtues  of  our  la 
mented  president,  and  with  reverent  awe  submitting  to  the 


228  WE  ALL  MOURN. 

Divine  "Will,  we  desire  to  express  our  sense  of  the  bereave 
ment  in  these  declarations : 

1.  We  declare  our  indignation  at  the  revolting  and  in 
iquitous  assassination  of  the  president,  deploring  that  in 
all  this  country  one  man  could  exist  who  was  capable  of  so 
great  a  crime. 

2.  "We  revere  the  memory  of  him  who  was  at  once  pa 
triot,  president  and  brother — who  lived  and  died  a  Chris 
tian  man. 

3.  We  send  to  the  venerable  mother,  to  the  devoted  wife, 
to  the  fatherless  children,  every  sentiment  of  sympathy,  and 
would  claim  them,  in  common  with  the  country,  as  a  sa 
cred  trust. 

4:.  We  bow  our  will  submissively  to  God,  and  making 
record  of  this  paper,  do  direct  that  a  copy  be  forwarded 
to  the  Grand  Commandery  of  the  State,  and  that  another 
copy  be  transmitted  to  the  family. 


THE  PERFECT  MAN. 


BY  ELDER  J.  Z.  TAYLOR. 

Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Services  in  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  Sept.  26,  1881. 

WE  have  met  on  this  sad  day  to  pay  the  last  tribute  of 
respect  to  our  departed  President.  Fifty  million  people 
to-day  in  this  great  country  are  uniting  with  us  in  this  me 
morial,  and  even  from  foreign  shores  comes  the  assurance 
that  the  hearts  of  all  mankind  are  with  us  in  this  reverent 
memorial.  We  come  to  express  this  tribute  to  the  mem 
ory  of  the  grandest  man  of  all  ages.  The  mightiest  pro 
duct  of  this  or  any  other  country,  torn  from  us  in  the  full 
bloom  of  his  usefulness  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  and 
while  wd  contemplate  this  scene,  we  cannot  but  feel  that 
there  must  be  some  disarrangement  in  the  plans  of  Provi 
dence,  some  mighty  revolution  in  the  spheres,  else  why 
was  not  the  bullet  stayed  in  its  progress?  why  was  not  the 
arm  palsied  that  directed  the  blow,  and  the  death  of  him 
whose  untimely  end  we  all  mourn  to-day  averted? 

Yet,  even  in  this  crisis,  we  are  reminded  of  the  words  of 
the  famous  statesman  and  know  that  God  reigns  and  that 
His  mercies  are  infinite,  although  we  may  not  be  able  to 
fathom  the  depths  of  His  mysterious  Providence. 

*•  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform." 

(229) 


230  THE  PERFECT  MAN. 

The  grandeur  and  power  of  a  great  life,  continued  the 
speaker,  is  not  weakened  by  its  duration.  One  single  act 
may  influence  all  the  ages.  We  measure  life  by  what  it 
accomplishes.  The  history  of  this  man  and  his  success  lies 
in  the  fact  that  he  was  the  embodiment  of  all  that  was 
grand,  noble  and  pure  in  human  life.  Around  his  suffer 
ing  bed  gathered  the  hearts  of  fifty  millions  of  people.  Up 
from  the  hearts  of  the  great  American  Nation  arose  the 
prayer,  "  Oh,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  us, 
nevertheless,  not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done." 

His  history  was  not  a  long  one.  He  was  born  on  the 
19th  of  November,  1831,  and  left  an  orphan  at  2  years. 
He  supported  his  widowed  mother  by  manly  toil,  and  thus 
gained  that  strength  of  body  and  mind  which  carried  him 
to  the  highest  place  in  the  gift  of  this  .Republic. 

His  progress  was  steady  from  the  tow-path  to  the  presi 
dential  chair,  the  highest  gift  in  the  province  of  any  peo 
ple  or  any  nation.  He  was  a  man  of  great  intellectual  en 
dowment  and  fine  physique.  He  could  take  his  stand  in 
the  front  rank  of  the  intellects  of  the  age.  He  was  a  la 
borious  man — a  toiler.  The  industry  which  characterized 
him  in  his  youth,  when  he  cut  100  cords  of  wood  for  $25 
and  gave  the  money  to  his  mother,  characterized  him  in 
his  public  life,  and  as  Congressman  Havens  remarked, 
"  He  was  the  most  laborious  man  in  the  halls  of  Congress. >r 
He  was  a  man  characterized  by  virtues  and  upright  habits. 
He  carried  these  habits  throughout  his  life.  He  was,  how 
ever,  a  man  of  deep  convictions.  He  said  :  "  There  is 
one  with  whom  I  must  always  be  on  good  terms.  I  am 
compelled  to  walk  with  him,  eat  with  him,  sleep  with  him 
— I  mean  myself."  He  meant  his  conscience,  and  he 
lived  up  to  this  life-rule. 

When  preaching  in  Washington  I  never  missed  Garfield 
on  Sunday  from  his  seat  in  the  house  of  worship.  When 


THE  PERFECT  MAN.  231 

we  were  about  to  leave  Mentor,  Garfield's  voice  could  be 
heard  above  all  the  voices  singing:  "  All  hail  the  power  of 
Jesus'  name." 

That  was  James  A.  Garfield's  great  nature.  He  was  a 
Christian  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  term.  It  made  him 
a  faithful  and  loving  son,  a  devoted  husband  and  father,  and 
a  true  friend.  He  was  the  most  perfect  man  physically, 
morally,  intellectually  and  spiritually,  that  the  ages  have 
ever  produced. 

From  this  we  may  learn  the  great  lesson  that  politics  may 
be  pure.  James  A.  Garfield's  life  demonstrates  the  fact 
that  a  man  may  be  a  Christian  and  a  politician  and  a  states 
man  at  the  same  time.  We  may  learn  that  the  American 
people  will  hold  in  their  hearts  a  noble  aim  and  an  honor 
able  life.  It  will  teach  future  aspirants  that  if  they  would 
attain  to  the  highest  place  of  honor  they  must  be  men  of 
virtue  and  integrity.  We  learn  further  the  lesson  that  it  is 
in  the  power  of  the  humblest  to  attain  positions  of  honor. 
This  great  country  offers  such  hopes  to  every  young  man 
in  the  United  States. 

The  grandest  achievement  of  our  sainted  President  lay 
in  the  fact  that  he  was  an  liumble  follower  of  the  lowly 
Savior.  The  American  heart  beats  toward  the  Savior  as 
the  rightful  ruler  over  human  consciences.  He  could  look 
down  to  the  dark  valley — it  had  no  terrors  for  him. 

Death  had  been  robbed  of  its  sting.  Our  beloved  chief 
tain  passed  away  in  the  hope  guaranteed  by  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ — the  hope  of  a  better  life.  In  conclusion,  the  speaker 
volunteered  other  eloquent  tributes  to  Garfield,  who  had 
been  a  member  of  his  church,  and  whom  he  had  known 
personally,  and  preached  to  in  Washington. 

A  chorus  of  school  children,  led  by  Major  White,  sang 
beautifully  :  "  Mark  the  tolling  of  the  bell." 


THE  LAMENTED  PRESIDENT 

BY  How.  ROGKB  A.  PRYOB. 

Delivered  at  a  meeting  of  Union  and  Confederate  soldiers,  in  BrooV.m,  Sept  22, 

188L 

ME.  CHAIRMAN: — I  have  a  melancholy  pleasure  in  partic 
ipating  in  this  demonstration  of  respect  to  the  memory  of 
our  lamented  President,  and  in  uniting  with  the  Nation 
in  its  expression  of  anguish  over  the  bereavement  that  has 
befallen  it. 

Gen.  Garfield  was  a  person  of  such  amiable  and  engaging 
virtues,  and  was  in  every  way  so  worthy  of  the  felicity 
awaiting  him  in  his  exalted  station,  that  his  sudden  fall 
smites  us  with  the  shock  of  a  cruel  disappointment.  Just 
chosen  to  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  the  Republic  by  the  ac 
claiming  voice  of  his  countrymen,  endowed  with  every  fac 
ulty  essential  to  the  successful  discharge  of  its  duties,  and 
cheered  and  sustained  by  the  support  of  the  people,  he 
would  have  achieved  among  the  rulers  of  the  earth  an  hon 
orable  and  an  imperishable  fame,  and  would  have  transmit 
ted  his  name  to  posterity  in  association  with  the  illustrious 
men  who  have  imparted  dignity  and  renown  to  the  Amer 
ican  Union. 

But,  untimely  though  his  end  may  seem,  he  had  lived 
long  enough  for  his  own  glory.  He  cannot  be  said  to 

(232) 


THE  LAMENTED  PRESIDENT. 


perish  prematurely,  who  has  already  fulfilled  the  offices  of 
civic  and  of  martial  life,  and  who  has  blazoned  his  name 
with  the  double  lustre  of  the  statesman  and  the  soldier. 
And  while,  had  he  survived,  the  passions  of  party  might 
have  obscured  the  radiance  of  his  chafacter,  and  have 
eclipsed  somewhat  the  splendor  of  his  career,  he  sinks  now 
amidst  the  universal  lamentations  of  the  people  and  in  the 
full  effulgence  of  an  unclouded  promise.  The  stroke  that 
removes  him  from  the  scene  consecrates  him  in  the  heart 
of  the  Nation,  lends  a  tragic  pathos  to  his  fate,  and  invests 
his  memory  with  the  halo  of  a  sacrificial  offering.  Here 
after,  as  often  as  men  shall  revert  to  the  incidents  of  this 
catastrophe,  and  the  sad  story  will  be  a  theme  of  undying 
interest,  they  will  accord  to  the  martyr  the  tear  of  pity  and 
the  homage  of  veneration. 

But  while,  as  short-sighted  mortals,  we  are  confounded 
by  the  blow  which  shatters  so  many  cherished  hopes  and 
affronts  our  imperfect  sense  of  justice,  let  us  not  mistrust 
the  wisdom  and  benevolence  of  the  overruling  Providence; 
but  let  us,  rather,  piously  confide  that  from  the  cloud  of 
calamity  will  issue  a  blessing  to  the  Nation.  Already,  in 
the  manifestations  of  mourning  prevalent  throughout  the 
South,  we  discern  the  tokens  of  that  union  of  hearts  which 
is  the  surest  safeguard  of  the  union  of  States.  And  who 
will  repel  the  fond  belief  that  in  the  presence  of  this  awful 
catastrophe,  the  clamor  of  sectional  contention  will  be  soft 
ened  and  subdued  into  an  accordant  strain  of  fraternal  sym 
pathy;  and  that  around  the  bier  of  our  departed  President 
the  scattered  children  of  the  household  will  be  gathered  in 
to  the  embrace  of  a  reconciled  and  reunited  family.  So 
may  it  be,  and  the  life  of  the  Republic  be  as  invulnerable 
and  immortal  as  the  career  of  its  chief  was  brief  and  pre 
carious! 


IN  LONDON. 


Minister  Lo WILL'S  Address  in  Exeter  HalL 


[Among  those  present  were,  the  Spanish  and  Brazilian  Ministers,  the  Belgian  and 
Russian  Charge  d' Affaires,  the  Brazilian,  Belgian  and  Chinese  Secretaries  of  Le 
gation,  the  military  attache  of  the  German  Embassy,  Mr.  John  Bard,  Mr.  Fish, 
late  Minister  to  Berne,  Mr.  Seligman,  Mr.  Thomas  Hughes,  the  Count  of  Monte- 
bello,  the  Lady  Maynes  and  ex-Senator  Miller  of  Georgia.] 

WE  meet  to  testify  our  respect  for  the  character  and 
services  of  the  late  President,  and  to  offer  such  consolation 
as  is  possible  to  the  noble  widow,  suffering  as  few  women 
have  ever  been  called  upon  to  suffer.  It  seems  a  paradox, 
but  the  only  alleviation  of  our  grief  is  the  sense  of  the 
greatness  and  costliness  of  the  sacrifice  that  has  caused  it. 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  recent  profoundly 
touching  spectacle  of  womanly  devotedness  has  moved  the 
heart  of  mankind  in  a  manner  unprecedented.  To  Ameri 
cans  everywhere  it  comes  home  with  a  pang  of  mingled 
sorrow  and  pride,  arid  of  unspeakable  tenderness  that  none 
but  ourselves  can  feel.  Yet  you  will  all  agree  that  the 
feeling  of  universal  sympathy  expressed  here  by  all  classes 
has  made  us  sensible,  as  never  before,  that  we  are  in  a 
strange,  but  not  in  a  foreign,  land;  that  we  are  at  least  in 
what  Hawthorne  called  the  old  home. 

I  should  do  injustice  to  your  feelings,  no  less  than  to 
my  own,  if  I  did  not  offer  here  our  grateful  acknowledg 
ments  to  the  august  lady  who,  herself  not  unacquainted 

(234) 


IN  LONDON.  235 

with  grief,  has  shown  so  repeatedly  and  touchingly  how 
a  true  woman's  heart  can  beat  under  the  royal  purple. 

Rhetoric  relative  to  President  Garfield's  noble  end  is  out 
of  the  question.  If  we  were  allowed  to  follow  the  prompt 
ings  of  our  own  hearts  we  should  sum  all  up  in  the  sacred 
words,  "Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant." 

The  death  scene  was  unexampled.  The  whole  civilized 
world  gathered  about  it.  Let  us  thank  God  that  it  was 
through  the  manliness,  the  patience  and  the  religious  forti 
tude  of  the  noble  victim  that  the  tie  of  human  brother 
hood  was  thrilled. 

That  "  touch  of  nature  that  makes  the  whole  world  kin," 
is  the  touch  of  heroism,  our  sympathy  with  which  dignifies 
and  ennobles. 

When  dying,  though  there  were  few  from  whom  death 
wrenched  a  richer  heritage,  there  were  few  who  would,  like 
Garfield,  die  well  daily  for  eleven  weeks.  The  fibre  that 
could  stand  such  a  strain  is  only  used  in  the  making  of 
heroic  natures.  Gen.  Garfield,  twenty  years  ago,  offered 
his  life  for  his  country.  He  has  now  died  for  her  as  truly 
as  if  he  had  fallen  dead  then.  His  blood  has  cemented  the 
fabric  of  the  Union;  his  example  is  a  stimulus  to  his  coun 
trymen  forever. 

Like  the  career  of  Joseph,  Garfield  had  a  similar  humble 
beginning,  and  has  died  the  tenant  of  an  office  second  to 
none  on  earth. 

It  would  be  improper  to  discuss  the  character  of  him 
who  is  now  our  Chief  Magistrate,  but  there  is  no  indeco 
rum  in  saying,  what  is  known  to  all,  that  he  is  a  gentle 
man  of  high  intelligence  and  of  unimpeachable  character 
and  ability. 

I  am  not  a  believer  that  a  democratic  more  than  any 
other  form  of  government  will  work  of  itself,  but  in  com 
mon  with  you  all,  I  have  imperturbable  faith  in  the  honesty 


238  IN  LONDON. 

intelligence  and  good  sense  of  the  American  people  and  in 
the  destiny  of  the  American  Republic.  Gen.  Garfield 
once  said  to  me:  "  There  may  be  a  defect  in  my  character* 
but  I  never  could  hate  anybody." 

Resolutions  deploring  the  great  public  misfortune  of  a 
death  which  plunged  a  nation  in  lasting  sorrow,  sympa 
thizing  with  the  late  President's  mother  and  widow,  and 
acknowledging  the  affectionate  solicitude  of  the  Queen  and 
people  of  England,  were  adopted  in  solemn  silence,  all  the 
audience  rising  to  their  feet. 

Eloquent  speeches  were  made  by  ex-Collector  Merritt  of 
New  York,  Bishop  Simpson,  Rev.  Mr.  Channing,  Junius  S. 
Morgan,  Moncure  D.  Conway,  and  others. 


PERSONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  GEN.  GARFIELD. 


JOHN   G.    WHITTIER — THE   POET. 

Amesbury,  Mass. 

AND  now,  when  South  and  North,  Democrat  and  Repub 
lican,  radical  and  conservative,  lift  their  voices  in  one  un 
broken  chord  of  lamentation ;  when  I  see  how,  in  spite  of 
greed  of  gain,  lust  of  office,  strifes  and  meanness  of  party 
politics,  the  great  heart  of  the  Nation  proves  sound  and 
loyal,  I  feel  a  new  hope  for  the  Republic,  I  have  a  firmer 
faith  in  its  stability.  It  is  said  that  no  man  liveth  to  him 
self,  and  the  pure  and  noble  life  of  Garfield,  and  his  slow, 
long  martyrdom,  so  bravely  borne  in  view  of  all,  are,  I  be 
lieve,  bearing  for  us  as  a  people  "  the  peaceable  fruits  of 
righteousness."  We  are  stronger,  wiser,  better  for  them. 


THE   LORD   BISHOP   OF   MONTREAL 
In  St.  George's  Church,  Montreal,  Canada. 

A  WARNING  voice  strikes  on  the  ear  from  the  death-scene 
of  one  who  filled  a  large  space  in  the  eye  of  the  world. 
The  late  President  of  the  United  States,  struck  down  by 
the  hand  of  a  dastardly  assassin — u  the  dead  yet  speaketh." 
The  chosen  head  of  a  great  nation — the  grandeur  of  his 
simple,  upright  character,  illustrated  by  a  life  of  fearlesa 

(237) 


238         PERSONAL   TRIBUTES   TO  GEN.   GARFIELD. 

courage  and  a  death  of  Christ-like  patience,  presses  on  our 
hearts  by  his  premature  and  violent  death  the  wisdom  of 
considering  the  shortness  of  time,  and  of  working  while  it, 
is  called  "  to-day."  The  true  patriot — the  ardency  of  his 
affection,  adorned  by  filial  piety  and  domestic  faithfulness, 
appeals  touchingly  to  our  tenderest  sympathies,  exhorting 
to  kindness,  gentleness,  love — "  seeing  that  here  we  have 
no  continuing  city." 

My  object  at  present  is  further  to  speak  a  few  words  of 
the  late  noble  President.  I  said  just  now  that  his  was  a 
premature  death — it  seems  so  to  us;  seeing  that  he  had 
only  numbered  fifty  years,  and  had  just  entered  with  wis 
dom  and  confidence  on  a  course  that  bade  fair  to  promote 
the  best  interests  of  the  great  nation  over  whose  destinies 
he  was  called  to  preside.  Yet  it  was  not  premature.  We 
have  faith  in  God.  The  President's  work  was  done,  and 
well  done.  His  life  ^measured  by  his  active  usefulness, 
was  a  long  life.  He  had  finished  the  work  God  had  given 
him  to  do;  and  when  we  see  by  the  light  of  eternity,  we 
shall  see  that  the  very  time  and  place,  and  way  were  the 
best  for  his  departure  from  this  existence.  We  are  sure  of 
this,  for  the  Christian  world  was  on  its  knees  supplicating 
for  the  President's  life;  with  us  not  only  was  there  public 
prayer,  but  also,  as  I  visited  in  various  missions,  in  family 
and  social  prayer,  there  was  a  petition  for  the  President, 
and  a  cry  for  help,  and  strength  and  comfort  from  God  for 
those  who  waited  in  terrible  anxiety  and  anguish  on  the  is 
sue  of  the  struggle  between  life  and  death.  His  death 
was  not  premature.  The  senseless  cruelty  of  the  act  drew 
the  attention  of  the  world,  and  the  worth  of  the  victim 
gave  to  the  world  a  splendid  lesson  of  all  that  is  great  in 
man  of  goodness,  courage,  manliness,  energy,  virtue,  com 
bined  with  trust  in  God — a  lesson  to  which  history  will 
point,  saying  to  princes  and  rulers,  "  Go  and  do  thou  like- 


PERSONAL   TRIBUTES   TO  GEN.   GARFIELD.        239 

wise."  I  dare  not  draw  aside  the  curtain  that  hides  yet 
tells  of  the  grief  of  that  stricken  home.  We  will  each 
pray,  and  unitedly  pray — "  O  God,  of  Thine  infinite  mercy 
bind  up  the  broken  heart,  heal  the  wounded  spirit,  minis 
ter  to  the  afflicted  ones  that  strong  consolation  which 
Thine  own  tender  and  wise  hand  alone  can  bestow." 


A  CLASS-MATE'S  REMINISCENCES. 

DE.  FRANKLIN  NOBLE,  Washington,  D.  C. 

MY  words  can  add  nothing  to  his  fame.  I  am  honored 
that  I  can  say  I  knew  him.  I  met  him  first  when  he  was 
entering  Williams  College.  One  could  see  that  he  was 
poor.  He  began  poor,  and  never  had  time  to  grow  rich. 
His  slender  property  refuted  the  slander  of  corruption. 
With  his  talents  and  opportunities  he  remained  poor,  only 
because  he  would  not  take  money  corruptly..  He  made  his 
way  independently,  but  if  he  leaves  his  family  rich  it  is  by 
the  gifts  of  a  grateful  people.  But  he  was  rich  in  cordial 
ity.  His  smile  as  he  held  out  his  hand  in  our  first  meeting 
was  the  same  as  when  I  saw  him  last,  just  before  he  was 
stricken  down.  He  was  hearty  and  princely  in  hospitality 
and  cordial  friendliness.  In  college  he  soon  took  high 
rank.  His  honorary  graduating  oration  on  "  The  Seen  and 
the  Unseen,  "  suggests  that  he  reached  the  heights  of  schol 
arship.  He  was  called  the  best,  read  historian  in  Congress. 
His  speeches  are  original  and  suggestive. 

He  entered  college  a  Christian  ;  his  voice  was  heard  in 
prayer-meetings,  and  he  worked  with  Hammond,  the  evan 
gelist,  in  a  backwoods  mission  Sunday  school  Twenty -five 
years  ago  last  4th  of  July,  a  company  of  students  spent  the 
night  on  Mount  G-reylock.  As  they  were  lying  down  to 
sleep  Garfield  said  :  "  Boys,  I  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible 


240        PERSONAL   TRIBUTES   TO  GEN.   GARF1ELD. 

every  night  with  my  mother.  If  you  please,  I  will  read  it 
aloud,  "  and  afterward  he  asked  the  oldest  of  them  to  lead 
in  prayer. 

One  Sunday,  'some  years  ago,  I  preached  here.  He 
learned  of  it  and  came,  bringing  two  classmates  to  hear 
me,  and  as  we  went  away  his  talk  was  a  pleasant  and  dis 
criminating  criticism  of  my  sermon.  * 

Bnt  the  best  witness  is  his  pastor's — that  he  was  regular 
and  faithful  in  his  own  church.  That  was  the  every-day 
religion  that  was  at  call  when  he  was  laid  low,  and  that 
did  not  fail  him  in  the  face  of  death.  And  by  such  men 
the  country  is  saved;  such  integrity  and  broad  statesman 
ship  as  his  influencing  other  statesmen  and  elevating  all. 
Some  thought  Christ's  life  of  no  avail  in  a  wicked  world: 
and  some  say,  "  "What  avails  one  good  and  wise  man  ? "  It 
avails  much.  God  does  not  make  such  men  in  vain. 

After  a  while  men  will  speak  of  Garfield  along  with  Lin 
coln  and  Washington.  His  life  and  character  will  be 
wrought  into  the  Nation's  life  and  character.  They  will 
quote  his  speeches — especially,  I  think,  those  of  the  sum 
mer  of  1880 — with  Washington's  farewell  address  and  Lin 
coln's  Gettysburg  speech.  Men  who  fail  to  admire  him 
will  be  ashamed  to  say  so.  The  land  is  to  be  saved  by 
largeness  and  greatness  like  his.  There  are  also  personal 
lessons  to  us  each  one.  They  are: 

First — The  worth  of  work.  Garfield  worked  during  col 
lege  vacations.  I  knew  him  to  work  all  night  His  so- 
called  "  luck  "  was  hard,  unceasing  work. 

Second — The  worth  of  prayer.  He  was  no  stranger  to 
prayer;  and  when  he  fell  the  Nation  fell  to  praying  with 
out  hesitation.  Even  Ingersoll  is  said  to  have  said — "  God 
help  us."  We  have  learned  a  habit  of  prayer. 

Third — the  worth  of  a  complete  character.  Work  and 
prayer  make  a  complete  man.  Such  was  he*  Such  a  one 


PERSONAL   TRIBUTES    TO  GEN.   GAEF1ELD.        241 

is  useful  in  affairs,  peaceful  in  the  face  of  death,  blessed  in 
the  memory  of  men.     Such  may  we  be. 


A  FELLOW  STUDENT'S  RECOLLECTIONS. 

i  A.  EDSON,  D.D.,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

THE  demands  of  an  era  like  this  will  perhaps  be  met  most 
fully  if  each  tries  frankly  to  say  that  which  lies  nearest  to 
his  own  personality.  It  is  too  early  to  treat  the  theme 
exhaustively  or  elaborately.  This  man  belongs  ft>  history 
and  to  the  race.  No  small  clan  of  partisans  could  encircle 
his  greatness  while  he  lived  ;  no  sect,  or  party,  or  people 
has  proprietorship  of  him  now  that  he  is  dead.  A  student, 
a  teacher,  a  clergyman,  a  soldier,  a  statesman,  the  President, 
with  mother,  wife  and  children  around  him,  touched  noble 
life  at  every  point,  and  handled  nothing  which  he  did  not 
dignify  and  adorn. 

My  own  immediate  knowledge  of  James  A.  Garfield  was 
as  a  fellow  student  at  Williams  College.  In  the  autumn  of 
1852,  entering  as  sophomore,  I  was  lodged  in  old  West  Col 
lege,  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the  second  floor,  with  Phin- 
eas  W.  Hitchcock,  who,  having  served  as  United  States  Sen 
ator  from  Nebraska,  died  suddenly  last  July.  Across  the 
the  narrow  hall,  with  another  student  from  New  York  Mills, 
was  Gartield's  class-mate,  Ferdinand,  now  Colonel  Rockwell, 
one  of  the  prominent  and  beautiful  figures  of  this  chamber 
of  suffering  and  death.  After  two  years,  arrived  the  future 
President,  entering  his  class  as  junior  and  accompanied  from 
the  West  by  an  associate  who  walked  with  crutches— the  com 
plete  physical  contrast  ot  his  vigorous  and  symmetrical  rooiru 
mate,  though  intellectual  sympathy  furnished  ample  grounds- 
for  the  close  companionship.  The  two  made  a  striking 
pair.  For  a  time  they  sat  with  us  at  Mrs.  Tyler's  table. 
16 


242        PERSONAL    TRIBUTES    TO   GEN.    GARFIELD. 

Without  delay  Garn'eld  won  respect  and  admiration.  Al 
ready  he  had  that  marvelous  friendliness  of  manner  which 
afterward  conquered  everything.  He  was  transparent 
and  natural.  He  had  the  habits  of  morality  and  re 
ligion.  His  mind  possessed  both  breadth  and  sym 
metry.  He  was  powerful  in  debate.  His  chosen  objects 
he  pursued  with  tremendous  energy  and  enthusiasm.  Long 
before  a  year  had  passed  he  was  a  recognized  leader.  There 
were  manifold  prophecies  of  coming  eminence.  And  the 
man  let\  College,  as  he  was  to  leave  Congress,  without  an 
enemy." 


St.  Paul,  Sept.  26, 1881. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  :- -We  have  met  together  this  day  to 
perform  our  part  of  a  sad  and  solemn  duty.  In  common 
with  millions  of  our  countrymen  at  this  hour,  when  the 
lifeless  body  of  the  late  president  of  the  Republic  is  being 
entombed  in  the  city  of  Cleveland,  we  assemble  to  mourn 
his  untimely  death,  and  to  evince  our  profound  respect  for 
for  his  memory.  It  seems  but  a  little  time  since  his  inau 
guration,  whon  his  clarion  voice  gave  utterance  to  patriotic 
sentiments  which  thrilled  the  public  heart,  and  inspired  the 
conviction  that  he  would  rise  above  all  sectional  and  party 
trammels,  and  administer  the  government  with  a  single 
eye  to  the  general  welfare. 

Less  than  four  months  had  elapsed  when  the  horror  and 
consternation,  not  only  of  our  citizens,  but  of  foreign  na 
tions,  and  in  a  time  of  peace  and  general  prosperity,  the 
bullet  of  a  base  and  cowardly  assassin  found  a  lodgment  in 
the  vitals  of  the  president  and  closed  his  earthly  existence, 
after  a  gallant  struggle  for  life  of  nearly  three  months  of 
fearful  suffering.  During  this  interval,  the  solicitude  of 


PERSONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  GEN.   GARFIELD.        243 

our  people  for  his  recovery  was  universal,  and  alternate 
hope  and  fear  agitated  them  with  emotion  as  tender  and 
touching  as  though  manifested  by  a  loving  mother  at  the 
bedside  of  her  sick  child.  But  the  fiat  of  the  most  high 
had  gone  forth,  arid  the  prayers  of  united  Christendom  were 
unavailing  to  save  the  life  of  the  illustrious  sufferer. 

It  does  not  become  us  to  seek  to  penetrate  the  mys 
teries  of  the  infinite,  or  to  be  wise  above  what  is  written. 
With  resignation  to  His  will  who  holds  in  His  hand  the  des 
tinies  of  nations,  we  are  permitted  to  extract  some  consola 
tion  from  the  event  we  so  much  deplore.  It  has  had  the 
effect  to  bring  together  in  the  close  bonds  of  a  common 
grief,  the  North,  the  South,  the  East  and  the  West,  to 
soften  and  diminish  sectional  and  party  animosities;  to 
quicken  the  national  conscience;  to  waft  us  back  to  the  faith 
of  our  fathers,  and  to  make  us  realize  more  vividly  that 
"  The  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth." 

While,  therefore,  we  join  in  lamenting  the  loss  the  coun 
try  has  sustained,  deeply  sympathizing  with  the  aged 
mother,  the  devoted  widow  and  the  bereaved  children  in 
their  affliction,  let  us  take  comfort  in  the  reflection  that  the 
nation  moves  on  to  accomplish  its  general  mission,  un 
checked  and  unimpeded  even  by  the  death  of  its  best. 
God  save  the  Republic  ! 


GARFIELD'S  DEATH  AND  ITS  LESSONS. 

By  REV.  J.  P.  BODFISH,  delivered  in  the  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Cross,  Boston, 
Sept.  25,  1881. 

IT  is  a  solemn  thing  to  stand  at  any  time  in  the  presence 
of  death.  The  sight  of  marks  of  mourning  upon  the  door, 
our  entrance  into  the  darkened  chamber,  and  our  meeting 
with  the  sorrowful,  grief- stricken  family,  are  all  intended 
to  chasten  and  subdue  our  hearts. 


244        PERSONAL   TRIBUTES   TO  GEN.   GARFIELD. 

These  seasons  of  mourning  should  not  go  by  unheeded. 
They  should  teach  us  that  all  things  earthly  are  vanity, 
ending  in  death.  To-day  we  are  called  upon  to  witness  an 
extraordinary  sight.  It  is  not  alone  one  family  we  see  in 
mourning,  not  alone  one  circle  of  relatives  bowed  down  in 
grief,  but  truly  and  sincerely  a  nation  weeps.  How  keenly 
we  realize  that  we  are  all  members  of  that  one  nation,  of 
one  body  politic,  and  when  its  head  is  stricken  low  the 
whole  body  is  affected.  The  great  and  noble  man  who  so 
lately  presided  over  its  destinies  is  gone.  Noble  son  of  a 
worthy  mother,  fighting  against  poverty,  with  a  strong 
ambition  to  do  good  deeds — when  we  think  of  the  struggle 
he  made  to  educate  himself,  to  prepare  himself  for  public 
life,  we  recognize  in  him  only  the  able,  just  man,  who 
aimed  at  nothing  but  the  Nation's  good. 

After  his  labors,  then,  to  fit  himself  for  the  highest  gift 
in  the  Nation,  we  see  him  cut  down  by  an  assassin's  hand, 
and  a  whole  country  agonized  throughout  its  length  and 
breadth.  I  should  be  wanting  in  my  duty  to-day,  if  I  did 
not,  as  the  occasion  suggests,  pay  my  tribute  to  this  good 
man,  and  strive  to  derive  from  his  sad  death  some  of  the 
great  lessons  which  Providence  teaches  us. 

As  Catholics  and  members  of  the  Roman  Church,  not 
only  do  we  joiii  with  our  neighbors  in  the  general  grief, 
but  we  have  a  special  horror  at  the  act  that  has  been  com 
mitted.  We  should  remember  that  the  Catholic  Church 
has  been,  throughout  the  world  and  the  world's  history,  the 
bulwark  of  civil  order,  and  she  has  at  all  times  urged  upon 
her  children  to  do  their  part  in  preserving  civil  law  and 
civil  government.  Often  have  prelates  and  priests  of  our 
church  been  called  upon  to  aid  in  the  preservation  of  con 
stitutional  authority,  and  they  have  always  responded, 
though  it  be  at  the  perilof  their  lives. 

When  we  find  socialism,  communism  or  the  spoils  sys- 


PERSONAL   TRIBUTES   TO  GEN.   GARFIELD.        245 

tern  culminating  in  the  assassination  of  a  good  man,  there 
is  no  heart  so  profoundly  shocked  as  the  Catholic  heart. 

And  there  are  many  lessons  to  be  drawn  from  the  occur 
rence.  It  shows  us  that  we  are  one;  that,  in  the  presence 
of  death  we  are  all  united;  that  partisan  bitterness  and 
even  sectional  strife  is  hushed  beneath  the  sorrow  of  one 
common  affliction.  In  the  record  of  this  man,  who  was  so 
distinctively  an  American  statesman,  and  so  natural  an 
outcome  of  our  glorious  American  institutions,  we  are 
taught  that  good  men  and  true  are  appreciated. 

What  a  lesson  to  young  men,  growing  up  under  the  fos 
tering  care  of  American  civilization!  Would  you  be  be 
loved  by  your  fellow-citizens,  and  your  death  mourned  by 
a  nation?  Then  imitate  the  illustrious  dead.  Be  a  man, 
good  and  true  and  without  reproach,  and  the  end  will  sure 
ly  be  a  glorious  one.  "  God  reigns,  and  the  government  still 
lives,"  said  Garfield.  And  the  government  does  live,  and 
may  all  honest  and  intelligent  citizens  of  every  creed  and 
race  and  color  join  to-day  in  a  renewed  act  of  consecration 
to  those  institutions  which  have  done  so  much  to  develop 
liberty  and  fraternity  among  us. 

MBS.  GARFIELD. 

See  her,  Rke  a  ministering  angel,  by  day  and  by  night 
at  his  side,  bearing  up  to  the  last  with  undaunted  courage. 
See  her,  with  a  true,  womanly  reserve,  shrinking  from  all 
publicity;  and  see  her,  alone  by  his  bier,  still  hiding  her 
sorrow,  whose  depth  no  man  can  fathom,  no  mind  contem 
plate,  but  God's. 

What  a  lesson  to  Catholic  women !  What  a  lesson  to  every 
young  woman,  and  to  every  wife  and  mother!  Throughout 
the  whole  civilized  world  there  is  not  a  heart,  however  stern, 
but  will  do  her  the  honor  she  so  richly  deserves.  It  is  the 
lesson  of  the  true  wife  and  mother.  These  are  the  qualities 


246        PERSONAL   TRIBUTES  TO  GEN.   GARFIELD. 

the  world  honors;  this  is  woman's  sphere,  indeed,  and  this  the 
sacred  duty  she  alone  can  fulfill.  Ah,  my  dear  friends,  re 
member,  in  the  hour  of  your  own  affliction,  the  wife  and 
mother  who  will  sit  by  your  sj.de  and  smooth  your  pillow. 
Honor,  and  love  and  cherish  her,  for  she  is  truly  the  angel 
of  your  household  through  all  your  days.  Let  us,  then, 
mourn  over  the  Nation's  dead,  and  pray  with  fervor,  for 
we  have,  as  our  text  tells  us,  "lost  some  great  heart."  Let 
us  pray  that  the  children  of  the  dead  President  may  grow 
up  in  usefulness  and  strength,  following  in  the  footsteps 
of  their  father,  and  by  the  light  of  their  good  lives  cheering 
and  sustaining  their  heart-broken  mother.  Let  us,  too, 
not  forget  that  aged,  grief-stricken  woman,  who,  parting 
with  the  cherished  son  of  her  bosom,  sees  her  "  darling 
boy"  brought  back  to  her  a  corpse.  And,  in  all  our 
prayers,  in  all  our  grief,  let  us  take  to  heart  the  lessons  of 
the  calamity  that  has  overtaken  us,  and  so  strive  to  conduct 
ourselves  that  the  reward  to  come  may  be  ours  through 
eternity. 


A  PUPIL'S  TRIBUTE. 


BY  F.  E.  UDELL,  one  of  Garfield's  Students  at  Hiram  College. 


Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Services;in  St.  Louis,  Sept.  26, 1881. 

FOR  nearly  thirty  years  I  have  had  an  intimate  acquain 
tance  with  Mr.  Garfield.  As  a  member  of  the  same  house 
hold,  as  a  fellow-student,  as  a  pupil,  in  our  church  relations 
as  a  member  of  the  same  congregation,  and  later  associated 
with  him  as  trustees  of  Hiram  College  and  a  constituent 
and  supporter  is  his  congressional  district,  I  have  had  op 
portunities,  such  as  perhaps  no  other  person  present,  of  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  his  inner  life,  of  his  school  days* 
and  his  young  manhood. 

I  first  went  to  Hiram  College,  then  the  u  Western  Re 
serve  Eclectic  Institute,  "  in  1853,  and  there  first  met  James 
A.  Garfield.  He  was  at  that  time  a  student  at  this  school, 
and  also  teaching  a  few  classes  to  pay  his  way.  I  remem 
ber  him  as  a  stout,  hale,  well- developed  young  man  of 
twenty-one,  plainly  clad,  but  of  striking  physique  and 
bearing.  He  was  a  hard  student,  burning  the  midnight  oil 
for  six  nights  in  the  week,  and  by  thus  applying  himself  to 
his  studies,  he  in  three  years'  time  crowded  six  years  of 
study,  and  thus  in  this  short  space  of  time  fitted  himself  to 
enter  the  junior  class,  besides  at  the  same  time  teaching 

(247) 


248  A  PUPIL'S  TRIBUTE. 

for  his  support.  To  accomplish  this  he  shut  the  whole 
.world  out  from  his  mind,  save  that  portion  within  the 
range  of  his  studies,  knowing  little  of  the  news  of  the  day, 
reading  no  light  literature,  and  engaging  in  no  social  re 
creations  that  took  his  time  from  his  books. 

As  a  student  and  as  a  scholar  of  great  promise,  he  had 
no  equals  in  that  school,  and  in  native  ability  and  already 
acquired  brilliancy  he  stood  head  and  shoulders  above  his 
classmates,  and  was  often  spoken  of  in  laudatory  terms  by 
all  who  knew  him.  But  notwithstanding  all  this — and  he 
was  certainly  conscious  of  his  attainments — he  was  never 
susceptible  to  flattery,  never  exhibited  the  least  arrogance, 
but  was  as  humble  as  when  a  boy  he  supported  his  wid 
owed  mother  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  unconscious  of  the 
latent  possibilities  of  that  great  head  and  heart. 

As  a  teacher  he  was  unexcelled.  How  vividly  can  I  now 
see  that  manly  form,  with  his  large,  well-developed  head, 
standing  on  the  platform  before  his  class,  chalk  in  hand, 
his  pleasant  luminous  face,  and  clear  silvery  voice,  explain 
ing  and  demonstrating  the  problem  before  him.  He  was 
par  excellence  the  best  teacher  I  ever  recited  to,  and  he 
was  loved  by  all  his  pupils.  I  might  also  speak  of  his 
forensic  powers,  at  this  early  period  of  his  life,  in  the  liter 
ary  society  of  the  school,  and  also  of  his  occasional  addresses 
in  the  church,  but  time  forbids  ;  suffice  to  say,  he  was  then 
as  in  later  life  a  fluent  speaker  and  a  devoted  earnest 
Christian. 

It  would  have  been  a  source  of  gratification  to  me  to 
have  been  at  Cleveland  to-day  and  to  have  dropped  a  tear 
on  his  casket,  but  it  affords  me  a  still  greater  satisfaction  to 
be  here  in  the  quiet  of  this  sympathizing  brotherhood  to 
testily  to  his  great  worth  and  his  Christian  manhood,  and 
the  love  and  adoration  I  bore  him,  and  with  you  to  weep 
over  his  grave.  It  is  not  so  much  for  the  dead  President  1 


A  PUPIL'S  TRIBUTE  249 

mourn  as  the  dead  Garfield.  Others  eulogized  him  for  hip 
great  statesmanship,  his  nobility  of  character  and  his  well- 
developed  manhood.  I  loved  and  reverenced  him  most 
because  he  had  a  warm,  loving  heart,  because  of  his  nobility 
of  soul,  and  because  he  was  a  true  friend.  Most  men,  when 
elevated  to  high  positions,  grow  away  from  the  humble 
friends  of  their  earlier  days.  Not  so  with  Jas.  A.  Garfield. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  hearty  greeting  with  which  he 
always  met  an  acquaintance  in  his  school  days,  and  to  feel 
the  grasp  of  that  honest,  sturdy  hand  impressed  you  that 
you  had  met  one  of  God's  noblemen.  And  all  through  the 
years  since  then,  no  matter  what  station  he  occupied,  or  how 
weighed  down  with  the  labors  and  responsibilities  of  his 
office,  this  quality  of  the  man  has  ever  remained  the  same. 
Any  son  of  toil  who  had  known  him  in  his  earlier  life  could 
approach  him  without  the  least  embarrassment  or  trepi 
dation,  and  would  be  met  by  that  same  warm,  cordial  greet 
ing  as  in  days  of  yore.  In  his  presence  you  would  forget  he 
was  the  leader  of  his  party  in  the  house,  that  he  was  Senator 
or  that  he  was  President,  and  for  the  moment  he  would  be 
to  you  your  old,  kind,  big-hearted  friend  Garfield. 

I  deem  it  the  greatest  honor  of  my  life  to  have  had  his 
acquaintance  and  friendship,  and  to  have  been  his  pupil, 
and  as  to-day  1  see  the  whole  world  moved  to  affectionate 
tears  over  the  death  of  this  one  man,  as  never  in  the  history 
of  civilization  they  were  moved  before,  it  is  with  a  thrill  of 
justifiable  pride  that  I  can  say  of  my  own  personal  knowl 
edge  of  the  man,  he  was  worthy  of  all  these  honors,  and  I 
thank  God  that  such  a  man  has  lived  and  left  the  impress  of 
this  grand  life  upon  this  and  all  succeeding  generations,  and 
that  it  is  my  privilege,  with  the  other  fifty  millions  of  our 
free  America,  besides  the  millions  in  other  lands,  to  give 
expression  to  the  sorrow  I  feel  over  the  death  of  the  Presi 
dent — the  statesman,  the  Christian — my  friend. 


A  WISE  MAN. 


BY  REV.  DR.  SPROLE. 


Delivered  at  the  Memorial  Service  in  the  First  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  Detroit, 
Mich.,  Sept.  26, 1881. 

AMONG  those  present  was  Solomon  Davis,  who  now  resides  at  760  Jefferson  avenue 
When  but  seven  years  of  age  he,  with  his  father  in  Vermont,  attended  the  funeral  servi 
ces  of  George  Washington,  and,  wherever  held,  has  attended  those  of  every  deceased 
President  of  the  United  States.  This  circumstance  was  mentioned  by  Dr.  Pierson, 
and  all  eyes  were  turned  to  the  pew  where  sat  the  venerable  man  whose  personal 
recollection  extend  back  into  the  eighteenth  century. 

THE  inspired  record  tells  us  that  when  Stephen  fell  by 
the  ungodly,  devout  men  carried  him  to  burial  and  made 
great  lamentation  over  his  mutilated  form.  We  are  en 
gaged  to-day  in  these  solemn  services,  while  others,  devout 
and  undevout,  are  carrying  to  their  last  resting-place  the 
remains  of  our  beloved  President.  He  was  cut  off  from 
his  usefulness  at  a  time  when  it  was  most  desirable  that  he 
should  live;  at  a  time  when  desire  for  continued  life  was  a 
righteous  emotion.  He  had  disappointed  the  hopes  of  his 
enemies  and  surprised  his  friends  by  the  wisdom  he  dis 
played  in  the  high  office. 

God  directed  us  in  the  choice  of  our  Chief  Magistrate, 
and  when  his  sun  was  shining  in  all  its  noon -tide  glory,  it 
was  extinguished.  Why  is  this?  It  is  one  of  God's  mys 
teries,  and  He  alone  can  unravel  it.  "  What  I  do  thou 
knowest  not  now,  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter."  It  is  no 

(250) 


A    WISE  MAN.  251 

wonder  that  the  people  of  our  and  other  Christian  lands 
mourn  his  taking  off.  But  few  equaled  him  in  those  ele 
ments  that  make  man  the  image  of  his  Maker.  Hia  dis 
tinguishing  characteristic  was  his  great  loving  heart. 
Though  sorely  tried,  it  never  failed. 

The  elevation  of  James  A.  Garfield  to  the  Presidential 
chair  did  not  change  his  character.  As  a  teacher  of  a 
country  school;  President  of  a  College;  taking  up  arms  in 
defense  of  his  country;  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  in  the 
Presidential  chair;  while  hanging  upon  the  borders  of  the 
grave  for  weeks,  he  ever  manifested  the  same  gentle,  loving 
spirit.  How  touching  are  the  thoughtfully  worded  tele 
grams  sent  to  his  mother  and  wife,  calming  and  soothing 
their  fears.  Such  a  man!  Such  a  loss!  I  can't  quite  un 
derstand  it.  Did  I  not  know  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of 
God,  I  might  question  its  right;  but  I  dare  not  do  it. 

Why  did  Goa  keep  him  hanging  there  so  long  on  the 
brink  of  the  grave  ?  It  might  be  to  prepare  the  Nation  for 
the  great  loss  it  was  to  suffer.  It  might  be  to  start  the 
tears  of  the  Nation  from  the  mountains  to  the  great  waters, 
and  cement  more  closely  the  brotherhood  of  States.  It 
may  have  been  to  bring  the  hearts  of  trans-Atlantic  nations 
closer  to  us.  It  has  had  its  practical  lesson,  for  it  has  dem 
onstrated  that  our  Nation  does  not  hang  upon  the  life  of  a 
single  individual. 

The  Rev.  D.  M.  Cooper  then  read,  and  the  choir  sang 
the  following  dirge  from  the  pen  of  D.  Bethune  D  urn*  eld  : 


Toll, 

Aye  toll,  ye  mournful  bells, 
A  world-wide  passing  knell 

Toll  for  a  hero's  soul. 

ii. 

Drape, 
And  sadly  drop  the  flag 


252  A    WISE  MAN. 

Half-mast  o'er  land  and  sea, 

And  bind  each  door  with  crape. 

in. 

Weep, 

Ye  stricken  people  weep, 
Around  the  hallowed  bier 

Of  Garfield's  silent  sleep. 

IV. 

Great, 

Sublimely  great  and  brave 
Was  this  our  chosen  chief, 

In  battle  or  debate. 

v. 

Love,         • 

Whole-souled,  deep  love  was  hla, 
For  country,  home  and  truth, 
Like  to  that  love   above. 

% 

VI. 

Write 

Amid  thfe  stars  and  stripes- 
Write  high  his  worthy  name, 

'T  will  make  the  stars  more  bright 

VII. 

Praise, 

Yes,  praise  the  Lord  on  high, 
For  all  he  was  to  vis, 

While  heavenward  we  gaze. 

VIII. 

Well, 

"  He  doeth  all  things  well," 
For  age  to  distant  age 

His  name  and  fame  shall  telL 

IX 

Fe«.rs, 

No,  not  one  fear  for  him, 
Nor  for  our  smitten  land, 

Tho'  flood- like  fall  our  tears. 

x. 

Toll, 

Yes,  toll,  ye  mournful  bells, 
And  roll,  ye  muffled  drums. 
Farewell,  oh,  noble  soul, 

Farewell. 


MEMORY. 


BY  JAMES  A.  OARFIELD. 

THIS  little  poem,  from  the  pen  of  the  President,  was 
written  before  his  first  term  in  Congress — hence  some 
twenty  years  ago.  At  that  time,  possibly,  the  Presidency 
of  a  Christian  college  was  the  "  summit  where  the  sun 
beams  fell,"  but  the  last  lines  are  all  but  a  prophecy: 

Tis  beauteous  night;  the  stars  look  brightly  down 
Upon  the  earth,  decked  in  her  robe  of  snow. 
No  light  gleams  at  the  window,  save  my  own, 
Which  gives  its  cheer  to  midnight  and  to  me. 
And  now,  with  noiseless  step,  sweet  memory  comes, 
And  leads  me  gently  through  her  twilight  realms. 
What  poet's  tuneful  lyre  has  ever  sung, 
Or  delicate  pen  e'er  portrayed, , 

The  enchanted,  shadowy  land  where  memory  dwells? 
It  has  its  valleys,  cheerless,  lone  and  drear, 
Dark-shaded  by  the  mournful  cypress  tree; 
And  yet  its  sunlit  mountain  tops  are  bathed 
In  heaven's  own  blue.     Dpou  its  craggy  cliffs, 
Robed  in  the  dreamy  light  of  distant  years, 
Are  clustered  joys  serene  of  other  days; 
Upcn  its  gentle,  sloping  hillsides  bend 
The  weeping  willows  o'er  the  sacred  dust 
Of  dear  departed  ones;  and  yet  in  that  land, 
Where'er  our  footsteps  fall  upon  the  shore, 
They  that  were  sleeping  rise  from  out  the  dust 
(253) 


254  MEMORY. 

Of  death's  long,  silent  years,  and  round  us  stand, 

As  erst  they  did  before  the  prison  tomb 

Received  their  clay  within  its  voiceless  halls. 

The  heavens  that  bend  above  that  land  are  hung 

With  clouds  of  various  hues.     Some  dark  and  chill, 

Surcharged  with  sorrow,  cast  with  somber  shade 

Upon  the  sunny,  joyous  land  below. 

Others  are  floating  through  the  dreamy  air, 

White  as  the  falling  snow,  their  margins  tinged 

With  gold  and  crimsoned  hues;  their  shadows  fall 

Upon  the  flowery  meads  and  sunny  slopes, 

Soft  as  the  shadow  of  an  angel's  wing. 

When  the  rough  battle  of  the  day  is  done, 

And  evening's  peace  falls  gently  on  the  heart, 

I  bound  away,  across  the  noisy  years, 

Unto  the  utmost  verge  of  memory's  land, 

Where  earth  and  sky  in  dreamy  distance  meet, 

And  memory,  dim  with  dark  oblivion,  joins, 

Where  woke  the  first  remembered  sounds  that  fell 

Upon  the  ear  in  childhood's  early  morn; 

And,  wandering  thence  along  the  rolling  years, 

I  see  the  shadow  of  my  former  self, 

Gliding  from  childhood  up  to  man's  estate. 

The  path  of  youth  winds  down  through  many  a  vale 

And  on  the  brink  of  many  a  dread  abyss, 

From  out  whose  darkness  conies  no  ray  of  light, 

Save  that  a  phantom  dances  o'er  the  gulf 

And  beckons  toward  the  verge.     Again  the  path 

Leads  o'er  the  summit  where  the  sunbeams  fall; 

And  thus  in  light  and  shade,  sunshine  and  gloom, 

Sorrow  and  joy,  the  life-path  leads  along. 


THE    END. 


DEAFNESS! 


The  new  scientific  invention,  the 
AUDIPHONR, 

assists  the  DEAF  to  hear  through  the 
medium  of  the  TEETH.  It  Is  convenient 
to  carry  and  use.  TJiousands  are  now 
in  use  and  in  every  country  in  the  world. 

Invented  by  B.  S.  EHODES,  Chicago, 

Originally  for  His  Own  Ike. 

It  is  sold  at  so  low  a  price  that  every 
one  afflicled  with  defective  hearing  can 
afford  to  have  one.  For  full  particulars, 

Address, 

RHODES  &  McCLURE, 

No.  II  Methodist  Church  Block,  Chicago. 


NEW  i  POPULAR  BOOKS 

PUBLISHED   BY 

RHODES    &    McCLUKE, 


Garfield— Life  and  Assassination 8vo. ,  paper,  228  pages. 

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Ingersoll—  Mistakes,  No.  1,  "  Mistakes  of  Moses,"  "  paper  128  " 

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44 


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